Alone Together
by 9witch2
Summary: Spoilers! Takes place after Zuko Alone. Zuko's weak after days without food. He falls ill and is awakened by a girl he wished he never saw again. Why is Katara helping him and why is she alone too?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi, people! So here's my new story. It's gonna be rather short (I like to call 'em "Quick Fics") Hope you like it! Oh yeah. One more thing. If you don't like the story, please tell me—but don't flame because of the plot; flame because of my writing. I can't exactly improve if you don't give me some advice here!**

o0oOo0o

_Summary: Takes place after "Zuko Alone." Zuko's fallen ill but a certain waterbender helps him through it. Why is she helping him and why does she seem to be alone too?_

o0oOo0o

Zuko sat on the stolen ostrich horse, lost in thought. His sad, thinning face was half hidden beneath his hat. He bounced with each step the animal took, swaying.

But he didn't care.

It had been four days ago, but that boy in the last town had really tugged at his heartstrings. Zuko wondered why the boy's words had offended him so, but he could not figure it out.

"_I hate you!" _

The words rang in his ears so loud he felt his ear drums would burst. They echoed off of the inside of his scull and pulled at the heartstrings the prince didn't know he had. Once the boy had found out who Zuko was, he wanted no part of him. Didn't it matter that the exiled prince had saved his life and stood up to those bullies of soldiers? Didn't his deed prove Fire Nation could be kind as well? Zuko supposed it didn't. For the rest of eternity, even after the war had ceased, the rest of the world would hate the Fire Nation.

The firebender swallowed a lump in his throat, taking in a rather shaky breath. He swallowed again and gripped the cracking leather reins tighter. The burning sun beat down on him, unforgiving. He was too weak to even adjust his body temperature. Now even his own element was betraying him.

Up ahead, he saw something that made him a little less depressed. Trees. The animal quickened its pace to its own accord. The thing did deserve a break… Zuko's stomach let out a painful rumble. And he himself needed to find something to eat. Once at the edge of the trees, the firebender dismounted from his ride, leading it by the reins.

He walked through the brush, waving away the creature's beak. It kept trying to peck at his head. After twenty patient-trying minutes, the pair came to a small stream. Zuko let the bird go and get a drink. He knelt beside the water too, filling his stomach with water, gasping for air afterward. Never had he felt so refreshed. And never again would he take water for granted. He filled his canteen with pale hands, screwing the top carefully.

Zuko stood and waited for the animal to stop its foolish splashing in the water. Having been alone for a few weeks, the firebender had grown much more patient and less arrogant. If the foolish bird wanted to play in the water for a few minutes, that's what he'd let it do. The thing _did _deserve a break after all of that walking. The creature stepped out of the stream, pecking at Zuko's hat in what seemed an affectionate manner. With a sigh from the young man, the two set off farther into the forest.

Within moments, they came across a berry bush. The ostrich-horse squawked and darted over, sticking it's head right in, clearly ready for a meal. Zuko's stomach growled again. He clutched his stomach. Well if the bird thought it was okay… Zuko plucked a small red berry from the bush with his fingers and popped it into his mouth. He was surprised by how delicious and juicy they were. He swallowed and began picking more. They were just the right balance between sweet and tart.

He remembered entering the last town, hungry as he'd ever been. That boy's mother had been kind enough to feed and house him for a night, but before that, he'd nearly keeled over from starvation.

He recalled seeing a man cooking on the roadside, meat just about ready on a spit over a fire. Zuko was preparing to take it, but then stopped when he spotted a woman sitting against a tree. No, it wasn't the woman that had stopped him. It was her current state: pregnant. He couldn't bring himself to steal food from a pregnant woman. She and her unborn child needed it more than he ever would. Should that mean he keel over and die in the dirt, so be it.

The ostrich-horse drew back from the bushes. It squawked. A thin, weak, half-smile spread across Zuko's face. The creature's beak was stained with berry juice. The firebender swallowed what was in his mouth. He pulled a small bag from the carrier on the back of the bird and began filling it with berries. There was, after all, no telling how long it would be before he ate again.

Again, they set off deeper into the woods. Occasionally, the feathered creature would make a small noise or a twig would snap, but other than that, there was silence. In an hour's time, just as the sun was setting, they came upon a small clearing.

Zuko stopped and unloaded his companion- not that there was much to unload. There was a sack of feed with little of it remaining, the berries, a bag containing a change of clothes, a small blanket with a hole in it, and his broadswords. The firebender sighed. He changed into the other clothes as his "steed" settled itself in a patch of dirt. Zuko pulled the blanket over himself. Without a word, he turned over and shut his eyes.

But sleep refused to come.

He wondered more about what had happened back at the town where the boy lived. The child's family had been torn apart by this war and then some "soldiers" come waltzing in and take the boy away from his parents. Zuko's fists clenched involuntarily. But this was happening all over the world. Because of this war, the whole world was being torn apart; Fire Nation included. But his father was too blind to see. The exiled fugitive prince wished he still had his birthright so that he could end the stupid war himself.

And for the first time in almost three years, single tear rolled down the firebender's cheek.

His dreams were haunted by memories of his home and of his mother.

_He saw her, tall, pretty, graceful, and smiling. The background in his dream was the garden of the palace, but it was blurry. He could barely recognize it. He ran to her, hearing his footfalls against the ground. _

"_Mother!" His voice was higher in pitch than it was now. And his mother seemed taller than she should be… And Zuko realized he was dreaming he was a child again, a day or two before his mother had left. _

"_Zuko! Hello!" She knelt and hugged her son. "I was just looking for you. Do you want to go feed the turtle-ducks?" Zuko felt his head shake._

"_Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai are by the pond." he said. His mother gave him a look._

"_Azula is your sister. Be nice."_

"_But mother, Azula is always playing tricks on me and Ty Lee is so cheerful, and Mai is… Mai is quiet. Creepy-quiet." A small smile spread across his mother's face._

"_If you can't talk to Mai and Ty Lee, how will you ever handle girls?"_

"_Who said I need to?" Zuko asked, arms crossed._

"_Aren't you ever going to marry?"_

"_No!" Zuko stuck out his tongue at his laughing mother. _

And as suddenly as it came, the vision faded away into blackness. Zuko woke with a start. He flew into the sitting position, eyes wide, sweat crawling over every inch of his body. Why had he—

Zuko clutched his stomach. It was doing summersaults, churning in pain. He groaned. _I guess those berries weren't so safe after all. _He thought, throwing his blanket off of his legs. His mouth was watering and his legs were shaking; he knew what was coming. Zuko took a few steps out of the small clearing and got sick in the grass.

His knees gave way as he sat in the grass, breathing heavily, swallowing access saliva. His fingers had a few blades of grass in a death grip. His stomach gave another lurch and he was sick again. When the firebender was sure he was done, he stood slowly, legs still wobbly.

_I'm pathetic. _His inner voice said, just loud enough for him to hear. And yet the voice was loud- the words echoed inside his head louder than the boy's ever had. The I hate you's were drowned out by his own voice. _I'm pathetic. _

Zuko managed to stumble and trip his way into camp. He couldn't believe how weak he was. He blamed it all on the berries. They were probably poison…

He lay on the ground near his blanket. His head turned to meet the staring eyes of the ostrich-horse. _Looks like you didn't get sick. _Zuko mentally cursed the animal. The bender turned away with a scowl.

_You were lucky to be born._

More painful words. Those were that of his father. He had yet again been comparing his two children: Zuko and Azula. Azula was born lucky and Zuko was lucky to be born. Zuko fought the urge to shout. Why hadn't his father loved him? Why couldn't he just try to accept his son for who he was? Why—

He sat up abruptly and threw up for a third time. His shoulders shook as he evened out his breath. He closed his eyes, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. Golden eyes fluttered closed and he fell backward, unconscious.

o0oOo0o

"Wake up." whispered a soft voice. Zuko felt a gentle nudge on his shoulder. He groaned in pain, still clutching his stomach. "I've got something that will make you feel better." The firebender let his eyes flutter open but snapped them shut due to the light. He heard a soft laughter, a girl's laughter. It was sweet and musical.

"Try again." she told him. He opened his eyes again, the light shielded by a tanned hand. After a moment, she slowly pulled it away. Zuko's stomach took another gigantic turn. He sat up quickly and turned to the side. Burning bile rose in his throat. The bile was, by far, worse than the berries coming up.

"Are you alright?" Zuko felt a small hand on his back, rubbing up and down to comfort him, like a mother would. The exiled prince gave a nod, swallowing. He turned and looked at the mystery girl for the first time. His eyes widened.

"You!" he said fiercely, struggling to stand.

"Calm down!" the girl said, pulling him back down. "I can help you."

"I don't want help from a water tribe girl!"

"Well, at least I'm not "peasant" any more." she mumbled. She grabbed a cup that sat on a large palm leaf in the sand. Zuko noticed they were on the beach, waves crashing onto the shore. How had he gotten here? That girl certainly couldn't carry him! "But could you please call me by my name? It's--"

"Katara. I know." Katara looked up at him, surprised he'd actually known. He was looking down at the sand in silence with a more serene look on his face than usual.

"Anyway," the waterbender continued, "I found Koala berries on your ostrich-horse. I figured I should check to try to see if I could find anything to explain why you were so sick… But you should cook those before you eat them. Only animals are immune to the raw poisons."

"Great." Sarcasm.

"So I found some herbs." she went on, seemingly unphased by his tone. Katara began filling the cup with assorted herbs, also laid on the palm leaf. "It'll make a tea and if you can get it down, you'll be better by tonight." She looked up and smiled kindly. Zuko said nothing or acknowledge her speaking. Katara's smile faded and she streamed some water from her water pouch and into the cup. She handed it to him. He looked up at her, capturing her gaze with his gripping eyes. For some reason, they were no longer laced with hatred. She silently wondered why.

"Why are you helping me?" The waterbender looked at the sand, choosing her words carefully.

"Well… Look, I saw the wanted posters of you and your uncle. And I know you may be rude and selfish, but you needed help. I can't just walk through the woods and pass someone that needs my help." Their eyes locked. Zuko's heart skipped a beat as Katara's mesmerizing blue eyes stared back at him. He quickly returned to his senses and looked away.

He sipped the tea, secretly wishing he could spit it out. How did his uncle drink this crap?

o0oOo0o

**A/N: How was it? I thought the quality plummeted as I wrote on, despite my editing. Should I keep writing or forget about it?**


	2. Chapter 2

Katara and Zuko sat on the beach for the rest of the day. Every so often Zuko would stand rather abruptly and run off into the woods to vomit again. He did this to save the girl the displeasure of seeing him and as an attempt to keep some dignity. But Katara followed anyway with a wet cloth to wipe his mouth and a cup of water. She always rubbed his back, comforting him as if she had always been there to do so. The exiled price wished he could just crawl under a rock. He'd just turned seventeen! He was capable of taking care of himself!

Katara didn't seem to think so.

When he was done, they'd go back onto the beach and Katara would make him a new cup of tea, saying the last one didn't stay down long enough. After the third time, Zuko was beginning to think the little brat was poisoning the tea too.

"So do you want some lunch?" she asked cheerfully, pulling a loose thread from the hem of her skirt. She looked up with a cute smile spread across her face and sunlight reflecting off of her eyes. Zuko sniffed and looked away without replying. His caretaker took this response as a "yes."

"I'll go find something for us. I'll be back." She stood and dusted grains of sand from her backside. Until she walked past, Zuko didn't look up. She had almost reached the forest when he called her back.

"I still have those berries." Zuko called out. _But I can't firebend. I'm too weak. _He thought, mentally cursing himself. How in the hell were they supposed to start a frickin' fire?

"Alright. I'll just grab some firewood." Katara sauntered off into the brush before the firebender had gathered the courage to tell her he was in no state to bend. He sighed.

_You need a little girl to take care of you. _He said to himself. _Are you really that weak? _Another sorrowful sigh. He didn't argue back.

And something hit him like a ton of bricks. _Where are her friends? _

Where were they? They hadn't showed up at camp all morning. Then again, Katara didn't really have a camp set up. All she seemed to have was the cup he'd been using, the water pouch she carried, and a small bag- its contents a mystery. There was no fire ring, no logs, no sleeping sacks, and other than hers and his, no footprints. Where were the others? Had they abandoned her? Had she abandoned them? Were they captured? Or were they only visiting a nearby town? _And leave Katara defenseless? Yeah right._

Zuko snapped out of his trance when he heard a twig snap in the woods behind him. He turned to see Katara walking forward with a monstrous load of logs and short tree branches in her arms. He stood to help her.

"I've got it." she said.

"Those are a lot of logs." Zuko pointed out.

"I'm fine."

"Are you--"

"Sit down, barf boy!"

Zuko's mouth snapped shut. He had offered help and she'd refused. If she fell and hurt herself it was her own fault. He sat down to watch his caretaker walk down the beach with strong, confident steps. Not once did she stumble or trip. Zuko was amazed at her strength. He had always thought the waterbender to be small and rather fragile, despite her bending abilities. As soon as she'd come, she'd gone back off into the shadowy woods, out of sight.

Katara returned moments later with an armful of rocks for a fire pit. Again, she returned to the woods without another word. Zuko shook his head at her confidence and started arranging the rocks for the pit. As long as he was sitting there, he might as well make himself useful. Just as he placed the last rock—

"Thanks for the help, but you need your rest." Katara took a seat next to him and emptied the contents of her skirt onto the palm leaf. A few fruits and nuts rolled onto it. Zuko gave her a curious look. "I found them near the edge of the woods." Her shoulders shrugged.

Abandoning the food, she started to set up the wood for the fire. Dried grass and leaves in the center followed by small twigs and sticks. She tore a bit of fabric from her skirt and put it in the very center for a fire starter. Zuko watched her and tried to mask his interest and slight admiration. He had never met a girl that was willing to setup and start a fire. But the hard part was yet to come. Katara looked over her shoulder at him.

"You can eat the nuts if you want. It'll be a little while." Zuko gave a nod but didn't take any. He was starving (literally) but he didn't want to seem so desperate. After a short internal battle, he took a handful of them and started to shell them. He saw Katara get something from her bag. From the angle he was sitting he couldn't tell what she was doing.

But then he heard the sound of scraping metal and Katara jerked. And jerked again. A small sizzling noise ensued and it clicked. She had a knife. Katara had scraped a rock with a knife to create sparks for a fire. A hint of a prideful smile spread across Zuko's face. He had to admit the waterbender was smart. She bent over the pit, blowing on it. The leaves crackled and an orange flame grew. It caught the twigs surprisingly quickly and the fire was started. Katara turned to Zuko and smiled before casually beginning to cut the fruit and shell the remaining nuts.

The firebender couldn't stand the next few silent minutes. Why were their silences so awkward? _Maybe because she never shut up all morning. _Zuko thought. All the girl had done was try to strike up a conversation about something stupid like bending or who she'd run into. By the time the sun had reached its peak in the sky, Zuko had a very good idea on her life story. And now he had to think of something to say.

"So…" Katara looked up to meet his gaze, still shelling a nut.

"Mmm-hmm?"

"Where'd you learn to make a fire like that?"

"Oh. From Aang, the Avatar. Sokka always rubs two sticks together to make a fire, but it never works." So Sokka was the water tribe boy?

"Oh." Another silence began.

"You do like peaches, don't you?" Katara questioned. Zuko gave a nod. "Try these, they're really juicy." She pointed to the sliced peaches on the leaf. Zuko picked one up and tried it, nodding. _Best damn peach I've ever had. _He said to himself. He tried not to seem too enthused, but his expression said it all.

Katara beamed.

Lunch ended up being a sort of cooked fruit salad with peaches and berries, sprinkled with nuts. The juice from the fruit had turned into syrup. Much to Katara's liking, the used-to-be Prince Zuko went back for thirds.

o0oOo0o

"Zuko." Zuko looked up to see Katara standing to his side with a bowl in hand.

"Thanks." he said quietly, taking the bowl of fish soup. Katara sat beside him by the fire, their thighs brushing. The waterbender didn't seem to mind (much less notice) but Zuko found it…strange. He didn't know what to think. Instead, he busied himself with eating his meal. Katara was a pretty good cook-- and he didn't just think that because he was (literally) starving.

Once they'd both finished eating, they sat on their logs and stared at the dancing fire. All was quiet. Zuko knew it wouldn't last long; the girl was a blabbermouth. He was sure she'd come up with some stupid question or another to ask.

"So where have you been lately?" Katara inquired. Bingo. Right on time. Her cheerful face seemed even more cheerful in the glowing firelight. The sun had set and it was getting chilly, even by the firebender's standards.

"No place important." For the first time in the entire day, his voice was bitter. He didn't want to tell anyone what he'd been through-- especially if it was the Avatar's little friend. And to make matters worse, the boy's words were coming back to him…

"Oh." A silence filled the void and tension built in the air. Katara shifted her position on her log. Zuko stared into the flames of the fire, trying desperately not to notice the tense quiet roaring in his ears.

"Why are you by yourself?" Katara said slowly. The firebender looked over to her, making her look away. He could tell she had second thoughts about asking such a question.

"My crew and ship were taken from me." Zuko paused. Why was he answering her? "And my uncle and I went our separate ways."

"Oh." Another silence crept over them, tenser than before.

"Where'd you get the ostrich-horse?" the waterbender asked, pointing to the creature. It had been sleeping in the sand all day and still was. The thing had to be utterly and completely exhausted.

"Someone let me take it." the ex-prince lied. After all, how would the girl react to him confessing he had stolen something? She'd probably pick a fight and demand he return it.

"Oh." And for the third time, a silence ensued. They both sat there for a minute, eyes wandering to anything but each other. The two started talking at the same time.

"I'm going to go--"

"How did you manage--" Both stopped simultaneously.

"What were you going--"

"Sorry. What did you--" Again they stopped, eyes locked, blushes creeping onto their faces.

"I'm going to go to bed." Katara replied softly. She set her empty bowl on her log with a small clank and hurried away to her spot. She lay on her small blanket, curling into a ball. Zuko stared after her. He shook his head, snapping out of the trance. What was going on with him?

The teenage firebender had no idea how long he sat there, but it had to be hours. The fire had burned into glowing embers, barely burning. Katara's breaths were long and even. She was out like a light (not like they were invented or anything). Zuko stood and made his way over to a patch of the sand. He pulled his own blanket over him as he watched his waterbending savior pull hers around her in her sleep. Her small body shivered. Zuko rolled over and shut his eyes, controversial thoughts running through his head.

_She's a waterbending wench._

_Then why did she save you?_

_She's a stupid waterbending wench._

_Have you ever thought she actually has feelings?_

_It's not like I'm being mean so lay off._

_Then why are you letting her lay there shivering all night?_

_Because…_

_Exactly! Now get your ass over there and give her your blanket!_

_I'll freeze to death!_

_Katara fed you four times today. I think you can at least adjust your body temperature with firebending._

_NOW!_

As if he'd been jabbed with a pin, Zuko jumped up. He took his blanket and draped it over Katara's sleeping form. As soon as it settled, her muscles eased from her shivering and her face seemed to ease into a small contented smile. Something stirred in the firebenders stomach, but he ignored it. He trudged back to his spot, the cold biting into him. His eyes narrowed to slits in spite of himself.

Suddenly, he realized what he'd done. _I lost an argument against myself!_

_Got that right!_

_I need therapy. _Zuko thought. He wasn't expecting an answer but got one anyway.

_Yes we do._

The exiled prince squeezed his eyes tighter. _Agni! _

o0oOo0o

**A/N: So how's it coming along? Too uneventful? Let me know what you think! Promise you'll get an answer on why Katara's alone in the next chappie! **

**TTFN!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Chap-ter threeeee! Chap-ter threeeee! Yay!**

Zuko woke the next morning to find Katara already awake. It was barely after sunrise and the sky was still painted with pink and orange streaks. There were more nuts and fruit on the palm leaf for breakfast. Katara was currently crouched over the fire, attempting to re-light it. She wasn't doing so great. Apparently, she'd gotten lucky the night before. "Here." Zuko said from behind her. She jumped at the sound of his voice. The firebender crouched near the fire and sent a fist-sized flame toward the kindling of the fire. It caught immediately. Katara smiled at his work. _How can she be so cheerful? _Zuko wondered.

"Thanks." She turned to begin shelling the nuts and slicing the fruit. She started humming a cheerful tune. Zuko looked down at the ground. Even that little bit of firebending was challenging for him. He was a lot weaker than he'd originally thought.

"Thanks for the blanket last night." the girl said suddenly. "That was sweet of you." Sweet? Zuko hated to sound like that. He wasn't _sweet_, damn it. He only gave a small grunt in return. Unbeknownst to the exiled prince, the water tribe girl smirked. _He doesn't like to sound nice. _She said to herself.

A sudden squawk behind him made Zuko jump. There was the ostrich-horse, red juice surrounding its beak. It had probably been eating those berries again. The creature pecked at Zuko's head. Katara laughed. "He wasn't there when I woke up. I thought he wouldn't come back." The steed pecked at the firebender's head again. "He must really like you." Zuko only crossed his arms and ignored the annoying bird, head bobbing with every peck. A scowl was etched onto his face.

Katara served the same meal she did the day before, minus the berries. She sat on her log, watching Zuko attempt to eat while his lovey-dovey bird kept right on pecking. The firebender sent a glare Katara's way. She couldn't help it any longer and burst out laughing. "How about we let it peck you in the head for nearly half an hour!" the firebender snapped.

"That's not what's funny. It's your expression. You look like Sokka when he pouts."

"That's such a compliment." he shot back sarcastically.

"Come here." Katara said, snapping toward the ostrich-horse. It squawked and hurried over. The waterbender scratched its head. "All he wants is some love." Like an oversized dog, the steed laid at the base of Katara's feet. Zuko arched an eyebrow. How the heck did the thing listen to her when they'd only just met?

"I don't do love."

"So you're telling me you've never loved anyone in your entire life?"

"…" Zuko didn't want to answer that question. Of course he had but he didn't want to seem weak around the girl. "No." Katara stared at him and rolled her eyes.

"Granparents?"

"Hell no."

"Aunts?"

"No."

"Uncles?"

"We went our separate ways."

"Father?" Katara asked, ignoring the fact that the prior answer wasn't answering her question.

"He hates me."

"Mother?"

Zuko froze, unable to answer. He swallowed and looked away, pain in his softening eyes. Katara wished she had never even asked. Why did she always say the wrong thing? Finally, the exiled prince mustered up some courage. "I don't know where she is. I don't even know if she's alive." His voice was soft and fragile. Katara abandoned her empty bowl and sat beside him, hands in her lap. Zuko tried his best to ignore her but the fluttering in his stomach made it hard to.

"I'm sorry." Her voice was soft, too and full of pity and sorrow. She laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"You have nothing to be sorry about." he said sharply. He jerked away and went to sit at his spot, facing the ocean with his back to the waterbender. The waterbender clenched her teeth to hold back tears. She knew how hard it was to loose a mother. She wished she could tell him that so it would comfort him and help him but he was too prideful. She sighed.

Zuko stared out at the water. He heard Katara cleaning up the mess from the meal, but paid it no mind. He swallowed a lump in his throat. Hot tears stung at the back of his eyes. Zuko wished he could just know what happened to his mother. Even if she was dead, he would know and that at least would give him some closure. But the fact was, he didn't. So Zuko had only memories and words of her to keep him going. _'Never forget who you are.'_

O0oOo0O

The used-to-be-prince sat in the same spot all day, watching the waves and remembering his mother. Katara called him for meals but he never came. He didn't even respond. The waterbender was beginning to worry about him, despite their prior relationship. She had opened up old wounds for him and she doubted they would ever close. At sunset, Katara tried again. She walked over to him with a bowl of soup in hand. She sat beside him.

"I know you're upset but you need to eat something." Katara insisted. Zuko took the bowl without looking. He took one bite and set it back down on the sand. The waterbender closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath. She pulled her necklace out. "Zuko, listen to me for one minute?" The Fire Nation refugee looked at her with hate in his eyes. She didn't falter. She only held up her necklace. He arched an eyebrow.

"This necklace was my mother's." Katara began. Zuko narrowed his eyes. "Think about it. Why would I be so upset over a piece of jewelry being lost?" No answer came.

"Zuko, I know what your going through. My mother's dead." Wide golden eyes snapped in her direction. "It must be harder for you because you don't know what happened to her, but we've both lost our mothers some way or another." Katara looked out over the ocean as her eyes wavered in the light. Zuko closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry." he said softly. Even though the apology was simple, it was great to here him say it. Katara smiled as she watched the foaming waves crash onto the shore. The cold water just barely reached her toes.

"Thank you."

O0oOo0O

The pair sat at the fire, talking about their mothers. It was the one topic that didn't seem to fizzle out. "And all I heard was a smacking noise. The next thing I know, my brother comes in with a red mark on his cheek." Katara laughed. "She never hit us, but he was going to get pneumonia if he kept walking around without a shirt." Zuko couldn't help but smile. Katara was enthusiastic in her story-telling. Then the familiar feeling of an awkward silence washed over them. It felt more uneasy than it had in the past, for some reason. Zuko just couldn't put his finger on it.

Suddenly, he thought of something to ask her. "Where are your friends?" Zuko asked. Katara's face fell and he mentally smacked himself for wanting to know.

"They're better off without me." Katara said softly. This sparked Zuko's interest further. Why wouldn't the Avatar and the water tribe boy need her?

"What?"

"I said they're better off without me." she repeated, this time with a sharp edge in her voice. "I finished teaching Aang waterbending so they don't need me anymore." Zuko continued to stare.

"Aang was planning on asking his friend in Omashu to teach him earthbending but Omashu is under siege of the Fire Nation. We were traveling and we found this girl named Toph in one of the villages. She's blind but the can still fight like nothing I've ever seen. She feels the vibrations in the earth and she knows where everything is." Katara paused, blue locking with copper.

"The way she fights, they don't need me." Katara scoffed. "Besides, there were these girls in Omashu that were after us. There was an acrobat that did something that took my bending away." Zuko's eyes widened. It couldn't be…

"Acrobat?" The waterbender nodded. "What did the girls look like?"

"The leader was a firebender. She was really powerful- the fire was blue when she bent it. She had black hair and gold eyes. The--" Zuko cut her off. He knew the rest.

"A pale ninja and a cheerful pink-loving gymnast." Katara stared.

"How did you--"

"I know them." Zuko answered grimly, looking toward the ground. "They've been friends since they could walk." All was quiet for a moment.

"Zuko, who are they?"

"The firebender is Azula, the ninja is Mai, and the acrobat is Ty Lee." There was a pause. "Azula is my sister."

O0oOo0O

The next morning, the exiled prince was woken up by Katara. She shook his shoulder gently. "Zuko, wake up." His eyes fluttered open. The sky was bright blue and the light hurt his eyes. The waterbender shielded his eyes with her hand. Wait, had he overslept? "You slept late." Katara said, sitting back and handing him a banana.

"Thanks." he replied. She nodded.

"I'm going to go practice my bending." Katara told him. He gave a nod and watched as she made her way down the beach, stopping at the water's edge. Her pants were rolled up and her dress was long gone. She had on a baby blue tank top in its place. Even once she'd reached her destination and began her practice, Zuko kept his eyes on her. He didn't know why; he just did. He watched her move gracefully, leading the water. It moved with her, flowing and mesmerizing. Zuko felt the familiar feeling of a fluttering stomach and tore his eyes away.

_What's wrong with me? _He asked himself. _I haven't looked at anyone like that since…That game with the apple back home. Since Mai. _

O0oOo0O

Katara sat in the damp sand, watching the sunset. The sky was painted beautifully with pale colors of orange, pink, and yellow. The water from the ocean crept over her toes, cool and refreshing. Zuko sat by the fire, watching her. All day he'd been wondering why he'd been staring at the girl so much but he couldn't help it. He finally stood to join her. Katara looked up when she heard footsteps. She smiled at the firebender. "I love sunsets."

The firebender nodded. He sat next to her in the sand, watching it with her. The waterbender glanced in his direction. His face was calm and serene with a pale yellow light over it. _He's so handsome. _She thought to herself.She felt a tingle go up her spine and heat rise in her cheeks. _What am I saying?_ They both kept quiet and watched as the last rays of light left the sky and darkness fell.

Zuko glanced at Katara. In the new moonlight her eyes sparkled and skin glowed. _She's cute. _Zuko said to himself. A light blush crept across his face. _What the hell am I saying? _

_She's cute. _Great. Now his other personality was rearing its ugly head. The waterbender stood up suddenly. "'Night."

"'Night." Zuko said softly. Once Katara was gone, a heavy sigh escaped his lips. He closed his eyes, blocking out the world. Why was this happening to him? Why was he falling for a waterbender?

Katara pulled her blanket tight around her, her ears following Zuko's movement. He crawled under his blanket and settled in. The waterbender blushed again, remembering what she had thought earlier. Why had she done that? Was she falling for a firebender? Not just any firebender but Zuko? The girl shut her eyes, attempting to block out the world. This couldn't be happening.

O0oOo0O

**A/N: How was it? Too fast? Let me know!**

**REVIEW!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hi everybody! New chapter (does happy dance)! Just to let you know, I'm putting Aang and the others in this chapter, just to get another side to the story. Don't worry, they won't find Katara and Zuko. They can't find them until Katara and Zuko are in love. It's like an unwritten rule of fanfics (rolls eyes).**

**Now on with the show! Erm… Story. On with the story!**

o0oOo0o

"GAH!" Sokka screamed in fear, clawing at his face as a chattering Momo clung to it. He'd just woken up and stumbled out of his sleeping bag, waking the Avatar. Aang stood with half-lidded eyes. He was slouching. Without looking up, he pulled his pet lemur away from the shrieking boy. Toph peeked out of her rock tent to see what the commotion was.

"Could you keep it down?" she said irritably. "Normal people are trying to sleep." Indeed they were (A/N: I never thought I'd use the word "indeed". Ha.). The first rays of morning were seeping into the sky and Toph's face was contorted in its usual scowl. Aang rubbed his eyes, yawning.

"Actually, Toph, we should get up." the Avatar said. "We need to keep looking for Katara." Even the dumb-as-dirt Sokka picked up on a hint of venom in the boy's voice. The night prior, the two pre-teens had gotten into an argument about searching for their lost companion. Aang had insisted they search because she could have been captured. Toph argued that 1) Katara could take care of herself, 2) If she was captured while the group was sleeping, why didn't the kidnapper take the rest of them as well? And 3) Maybe the waterbender didn't want to be found. The last one sent Aang over the edge. Insults were thrown and threats made. Fortunately, Sokka had broken up the argument before it turned into anything worse.

The little earthbending girl grumbled and crawled out of her shelter. She bent the rock back into the ground with a snappy movement. "Fine, Twinkle Toes. You wanna find your girlfriend? Let's go." She pulled a surprised Sokka by the ear, picking up items as she moved toward Appa. The water tribe warrior screamed again as he was dragged along, fighting to break loose. Was it just him, or was Toph angrier than usual?

"Girlfriend!" Aang exclaimed, wide eyed. "Katara's not my--"

"Whatever. Let's go." Toph crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes as the flying bison took flight.

o0oOo0o

The waterbender didn't wake Zuko as she normally did the next morning. Instead, she went down to the shoreline and watched the sunrise. For some reason, she felt she needed to watch the sun disappear and reappear over the sparkling water. Maybe it had something to do with leaving Aang and her brother and Toph… But what could it have to do with them? Her heart nearly broke when she envisioned the cheerful Avatar with a beaming smile plastered across his face, eyes shining. She saw Sokka pouting, arms crossed, boomerang clutched in his hand. Her gaze fell on the sand wet sand. She missed the two of them but Toph was more than enough to make up for her. The earthbender was a spectacular fighter and she got along so well with Sokka and Aang. She was the perfect addition to the team. The perfect one to replace Katara.

A single tear slid down her cheek, sending ripples across the shallow water at her feet.

Then she felt a hand on her back. She looked over her shoulder to see Zuko standing behind her, concerned expression on his face. The waterbender wiped her tears away, but Zuko had already seen. "What's wrong?" It was a simple question. It was meant to help and console. It didn't. Katara finally lost it and broke down in tears, sobs wracking her body. She collapsed in the sand, cold water splashing around her. Her hands covered her face. She didn't want Zuko to see her like this…

But the firebender knelt down beside her with his strong arms around her shoulders. "Tell me what happened." he whispered soothingly. The waterbender slowly calmed down. When she did, she noticed she was leaning into the ex-prince's chest and his shirt was wet with her tears. Her sparkling blue eyes met his passionate gold ones. Katara shook her head, trying to push him away and stand. He didn't let her and pulled her closer, almost affectionately.

"I've said things to you that I won't even admit to my uncle. Now tell me."

With a sniff, "I just… I miss them. My brother and Aang…" Her voice trailed off, fragile and sad. Zuko thought for a moment.

"Then…go back to them."

"What? No! I can't leave you; I need to make sure you're alright!" Katara exclaimed, their eyes clashing again. Zuko felt a sense of hope. She didn't want to leave him? But his mouth had something different to say.

"You've been tending to me for three days and I haven't been sick since the first night. I'm fine."

"I can't deal with Toph."

"If you miss the others enough you can." Zuko replied softly.

"But…" Was it just him or was Katara _trying _to find an excuse to stay with him?

"Go." It came out a little harsher than he'd planned. Zuko let go of her. She didn't move. Slowly, her head shook, shining tears coming back.

"No." Before Zuko knew what had hit him, Katara wrapped her arms around his torso, head on his shoulder. His eyes widened. What the hell was she doing? "I don't want to leave you. Whenever I'm close to you I feel safe and there's… electricity… I don't want it to go away." She paused and sniffed. "I know you think I'm just a stupid waterbender, but…"

"I don't think that." His voice was firm. His arms snaked around her waist and he kissed her cheek. Katara's eyes widened. She had told him how she felt… He didn't push her away… He was hugging her back… And he'd _kissed _her? It was only on the cheek, but still… Was the world thrown off its axis (A/N: favorite phrase of mine…)?

Zuko could have sunk into the earth. What had he just done? He'd kissed the water tribe girl! Now she'd surly think he was some perverted freak…

Katara gave a sort of nervous half-sob, half-laugh. She nuzzled into the crook of his neck. Her whisper was just loud enough to hear. "Thank you." The firebender felt a huge weight lifted off of his shoulders that he didn't even know was there. The two sat there for a few minutes in silence, watching the sun rise fully over the water and taking everything in. "Look." Katara whispered. "It's us." Zuko felt a blush on his cheeks because of the way she'd said it.

"_It's us."_

o0oOo0o

"She's not my girlfriend!" Aang yelled. They were high in the air and the argument had resurfaced after several silent hours. If only Zuko was there to reassure Toph of this statement. But he wasn't, so the story goes on.

"Yeah right, Twinkle Toes!" Toph shouted back.

"You don't know that!" The Avatar stood on Appa's head, pointing at her. A screeching Momo took refuge in Sokka's shirt.

"Yes I do!"

"Prove it! Name one time that Katara could have been my girlfriend!"

"Give it a break! You know you like her! I've seen it!" the earthbender yelled. Appa grunted. The water tribe warrior sat in between the two, head whipping to follow comments.

"Even if I did like her, I couldn't do anything about it! I'm a monk!"

"So what?" Toph said with a flick of her wrist. "All the other monks are dead; they won't find out." The Avatar's gray eyes narrowed. His voice was filled with venom. _The body may be dead, _he thought, _but the soul lives on. _

"And how can you _see _my so-called feelings for Katara, Toph? You're blind!" Silence. Aang's finger hung in midair, pointing at his friend. Toph's head was hung. Sokka's mouth was slightly open in shock. And then she looked up. Her face was covered in tears.

"Don't you think I know I'm blind, Aang? Huh? Or do you just want to rub it in my face?" The enraged girl stood up, brows furrowed, pointing to the Avatar. She walked toward him. "I don't need you to--" Suddenly, Toph lost her footing. "Ah!" She clawed for the edge of the saddle, unable to grip it. Toph fell over the edge.

o0oOo0o

(A/N: In a lighter mood…)

"What's your ostrich-horse's name?" Katara asked suddenly as she peeled a banana. Zuko looked up from his meditation with one eye.

"What?" He was completely baffled by such a simple question. The waterbender repeated herself. "Oh. I didn't give him a name." His eyes closed again.

"Why not?" His eyes opened with her next question. His shoulders shrugged and he shut his copper eyes for a third time.

Katara sighed and stood, brushing the grains of sand away. It was clear Zuko didn't want to be bothered right now. She might as well find something else to do. She made her way down to the shoreline again. A little bending practice never hurt. The waterbender froze when she saw something on the horizon. Her eyes narrowed to make out the shape. But when she did, she saw a black dot with pluming black smoke rising from it. Katara felt her blood run cold. Fire Nation. _No. _She thought. Her eyes widened as she turned on her heal, running up the shore.

"Zuko!" The firebender looked up, alarmed. "Put the fire out! There's a ship on the horizon!"

"What?" he exclaimed, jumping to his feet. He bent the flames of the roaring fire into nothingness and dashed down the sand to see if this was true. He came back, wide eyed. "Shit!" He hastened in packing up what they had on his steed. "Get rid of the fire ring!" The waterbender nodded and hurried away with several of the rocks. Zuko buried the rest of the evidence of fire before Katara returned. Hopefully this would hide the evidence of their camp well enough. How dim did they have to be to put camp on a shore, where everyone could see you?

He climbed onto the ostrich-horse and offered Katara a hand up. She scurried on, wrapping her arms tight around his waist. _This would be sort of romantic if we weren't trying to get away. _Katara said to herself. Everything was happening so fast… Neither of them stopped to think of who it might be on the ship but they certainly didn't want to take their chances. Zuko cracked the leather reins and they were off. The waterbender held tighter, trying not to be bounced as much. She was secretly amazed at how fast the animal went; especially considering they were navigating through the woods. The group was quiet but tension was thick in the air. Finally, as dark fell over them, it was broken.

"I'm scared." Katara whispered. Zuko swallowed.

"I know." That was as close as he could get to admitting he was too. Fear gripped his stomach and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end.

"What if it's those girls…?" Katara said, a little louder. She didn't want to loose her bending again…

"We'll worry about it if they catch us."

_When they catch us. _

o0oOo0o

**A/N: Let me know how it was! **


	5. Chapter 5

Sokka shook his head, hearing Aang and Toph talking over by the fire. He was going hunting and the sun had fallen over the horizon a while ago. Even Sokka could see the two twelve year olds liked each other. _I remember when I gave him girl advice. _The warrior thought, as if it was an amazing long-forgotten memory (in reality, it was about two months ago). With a knowing smile, the not-so-smart boy slipped into the woods.

Toph and the Avatar sat around the fire ring. Though the blind girl had fallen off of Appa and into the water over two hours ago, she still had a blanket draped around her shoulders. And the airbender (absentmindedly) still had his arm around her. After they'd rescued her, Toph was shivering like it was zero degrees out. Toph had thought it a friendly gesture, but the airbender meant it as a little more.

"I'm sorry, Toph." Aang said. It was the same sad voice she'd heard when he'd apologized back at her home. It sent tingles up her spine. His toned arms were warm and she loved the feel of his clothes- all cotton. She couldn't help but notice he smelled like pine and fresh air (A/N: God, I make him sound like an air freshener that you'd hang in your car. Oh! I got something! _Avatar: The Last Air Freshener. _MINE!Sorry. Back to the story). She loved that smell… Toph swallowed, reminding herself that her soon-to-be-pupil had a thing for the group's waterbender.

When Toph didn't respond, Aang spoke again. "I shouldn't have said that. You do everything just as well as everyone else. And no one will ever overthrow you in earthbending." The boy pulled Toph a little closer.

"It's okay. We were angry. You say things you don't mean when you're angry." Aang didn't know if it was his imagination or not, but Toph seemed to have lost the threatening edge in her voice. "And I'm sorry too. I guess you do it for them. You're family and friends from the air temple, I mean." Aang didn't reply. The pair just sat there, watching the dancing fire.

o0oOo0o

Zuko slipped off of the ostrich-horse, whispering softly. Katara groaned. She was exhausted from riding for so long and the short nap on the way wasn't doing much to help her. It was a few hours before sunrise. The firebender reached up, pulling the girl toward him. He carried her over to a patch of grass in at the edge of the clearing. Laying a blanket over the girl, he settled in next to her. Katara turned her head to look at him. "Do you think they'll find us?" She yawned and covered her mouth. Zuko was suddenly glad to have the shrouding darkness around; it hid his face. His expression would have given away his answer for sure. If that ship was his sister's, it wasn't a matter of 'if' but a matter of 'when'.

"I don't know." the firebender said softly. He wished he could just muster up the courage to tell her what he really thought. But he wasn't going to worry her if they could get away. Zuko planned to get a few hours of sleep and get up and moving by sunrise. Then they could ride until the end of the forest. Hopefully it would be dark when they arrived at that point so they could get across the stretch of plains after that. He didn't want to be out in the open crossing that.

"Do you think it was Azula?" Katara whispered. Zuko took in a sharp breath. His sister's name seemed like a curse. He swallowed.

"Probably." The exiled prince felt a stroke of guilt strike him when Katara edged closer. But the fact that one of them could take her bending away would be nerve-wracking. And Zuko froze. If that was the case, he needed to be prepared to fight all three of the girls and protect Katara. His copper eyes shut. He could barely put up a fight against Azula. But his mother's words echoed in his head. _"Don't forget who you are."_

Zuko's golden eyes snapped open just as the first orange glow of light was peeking in through the trees. He sat up and shook his companion awake. "Come on. We need to reach the plains by nightfall." The waterbender sat up, rubbing her eyes. They ate a piece of fruit and let their steed have its meal before setting off again.

Things were dreadfully boring riding all day. Occasionally, someone would make a stab at conversation, usually not making it past a single exchange. Scenery was always the same: green and leafy and woody (A/N: It's hilarious playing "I spy" in the woods. Everyone's like: I spy something…green and—Tree. Damn, how'd you know? Okay, I spy something—Tree. You did it again!) Katara held tight to the boy in front of her. She hated swaying so much. Shifting her position slightly, she swallowed. Her backside was getting sore. How had Zuko put up with this for so long? Suddenly, the boy spoke up.

"What's today?" he asked (A/N: I'm using our calendar. Sue me.) Katara took a moment to think.

"Sometime in June. It's past the third is all I know. I haven't been keeping track." the waterbender confessed. Zuko nodded. "Why?"

"I was just thinking of a date that was important is all."

"Why is it important?" Katara asked. The firebender was quiet for a moment.

"My birthday." he replied. The waterbender could have fallen of the horse. She smiled, asking when it was. "The fifth."

"Well happy birthday." The girl was silent. "As happy as it can be." Zuko smiled. "How old are you now?" Katara asked, not wanting the conversation to die.

"Seventeen." Again, the girl could have fallen off the ostrich-horse. "How old are you?" Zuko inquired, glancing over his shoulder. The waterbender felt herself blush.

"Fourteen." This time, it was the Fire Nation's ex-prince that nearly fell over.

"Well," Zuko said, smiling, "I always did like younger girls." (A/N: would someone just fall off the damn horse already!)

o0oOo0o

Sokka held tight to Appa's reins, scanning below for any sign of Katara. Toph and Aang sat on the saddle. Toph was teaching Aang earthbending with a small bag of dirt. It was the best they could do if they were traveling. The teacher had formed small rocks with the dirt and was instructing the Avatar how to push them away. "Once we land, we can try a much bigger one. But it's probably a good idea to start small." Toph pushed a rock the size of her fist so it stopped in front of her pupil.

Sokka shook his head when Toph kept telling Aang how to perform the move. He couldn't get it after at least ten tries. The water tribe warrior went through the food sack, munching on an apple. Momo was curled up on his head, sleeping. Sokka leaned back and closed his eyes, blocking out the yelling going on behind him. They definitely liked each other. He could tell.

o0oOo0o

Zuko and Katara stopped at the edge of the forest, just as the sun was setting. Yawning, Katara climbed off, falling in the grass. She stared up at the stars while Zuko set to feeding Chi (as Katara had taken to calling the ostrich-horse). She closed her eyes, breathing deeply. She drifted off to sleep.

But her little doze was short lived. She was jerked awakened by a hard kick to her side, causing her to roll over in the grass. She groaned. Katara rolled into a crouching position, trying to ignore the pain in her ribs. _No! _She yelled in her head. In front of her stood the girl named Mai, hate in her thin eyes. Zuko whipped around when he heard the grunt. His eyes widened when he saw the girl from his past standing over the waterbender. Without a second thought, he fired a blast of searing flames.

His attack didn't hit its mark. Someone stepped in front of the fire and deflected it. When the smoke cleared, he saw it was Azula. "Hello again, Zuzu." The princess's voice was like poisoned honey. She advanced, sending a blue streak of flame toward her brother. He flew backward.

Katara leapt up to avoid a dart. She uncorked her water pouch, flinging out a water whip. Azula turned with a wicked grin. She sent another streak of flames out, colliding with the waterbender's whip. The water sizzled and steam rose in the air. Through the steam flew a blur of pink and it was headed straight for Katara. The waterbender ducked at the last minute. She heard a light-footed landing behind her and stood, gathering the water vapor in the air for another whip.

Zuko charged his sister, sending her flying into Mai. They fell in a heap on the ground. He turned to see his companion fighting off Ty Lee. The Fire Nation girl dodged the waterbender's attack with gymnastics, braided hair whipping. Katara sent ice disks her way. Once again, the water was evaporated with a flame. Zuko turned to see their other two opponents standing. Mai was ready to throw an array of darts and Azula was sporting flaming fists.

"No one knocks me down." Azula said menacingly. She took a step forward. Zuko smirked.

"It's a part of fighting. Learn to cope with it." He shot a fireball her way, followed by a leaping kick. The younger sibling dissolved the fire, but got sent flying backward by the flame-edged kick. The exiled prince returned his attention to Katara. She was evading both girls' attacks, fighting blow for blow. He stepped in. He sweep kicked Mai and Ty Lee fell over her comrade. The acrobat flipped back up in a heartbeat.

Katara and Zuko stood back to back, ready to fight. Mai stood across from the firebender while Ty Lee was across from the waterbender. The ninja threw a sharp star. Both benders ducked so that the projectile was headed for Ty Lee. Zuko blasted his opponent back with a burst of flame. Katara evaded the acrobat, stepping to the side, allowing Zuko to blast her backward as well. Zuko was suddenly thrown off his feet by a punch. Azula stood in front of Katara with flames licking her arms.

"So this is the girl my brother falls for." she said, sauntering forward. Katara backed away but never let her defensive stance falter. "A low-life waterbending peasant that was traveling with the Avatar." The princess stopped, eyes narrowing. The waterbender saw the other girls holding off Zuko. "Did they abandon you, peasant?" It was Katara's turn for her eyes to narrow. She summoned as much water from the earth as she could (which was a lot, by the way) and sent a humongous wave crashing down on her opponent. With a cry, Azula was washed backward. Katara stood triumphantly with her hands on her hips. She smirked.

"That's master waterbending peasant to you, Azula." Katara scoffed. Zuko couldn't help but smile. He evaded more of Mai's weapons. The princess stood, fuming. She sent a searing ball of fire toward the waterbender. The waterbender stepped to the side, lashing out with a whip. When Azula tried to move, she realized her feet were stuck to the ground. She fell back, trying desperately to escape her holds. Mai rolled on the ground from yet another one of Zuko's fire strikes.

"I never thought that little peasant could be such a problem, bender or not." Mai commented to Azula as she stood. The princess stopped fumbling with the ice on her feet. She smiled a wicked grin.

"Ty Lee!" she yelled. Ty Lee leapt from a tree behind the unsuspecting waterbender. Neither Zuko nor Katara had noticed her disappearance. Zuko's eyes widened and he was kicked by Mai. Ty Lee landed her first target. Katara stumbled backward. Ty Lee landed her second target. Mai kicked the banished prince again so that he landed face down in the grass. He heard Katara cry out and a thump. Zuko turned to see Katara on the ground, propped up on her elbows with wide eyes.

Azula was freed, standing beside her two friends. Ty Lee had a hand on her hip and Mai held a ninja star in her hand. Mai's words brought back a startling sense of de ja vu for Katara.

"How are you gonna fight without your bending?"

o0oOo0o

**A/N: AAAHHHH! How was it? I really hope you did 'cause I haven't got that many reviews on one of my stories lately so I hope I'm not losing my mojo. Sorry to sound depressed, but I love reviews and they make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside (especially the long ones)! Okay, gushy moment over. XP**

**PLEASE review!**


	6. Chapter 6

Katara's cerulean eyes were wide in a swirling mixture of surprise and fear. The three firebending girls were standing in front of her, towering over her as she lay in the grass. The waterbender couldn't defeat one of them on her own, or fend off two for long. But all three stood right there. Add that and the fact that Ty Lee had taken away her bending spelled disaster. There was no way she could escape this one. Unless Zuko helped.

"You have no idea how much I want to do this." Mai said with a smirk. The ninja's voice sent shiver's down Katara's spine. She seemed so cold. Her eyes were void of all emotion but a small, sharp sliver of anger. Why was she so angry? The not-so-waterbender didn't know what she'd done to Mai to make her hate her so much, but it had to be something big. The Fire Nation girl held a gleaming red fork made of metal. It was supposed to only be used for the last attack to end someone's life and Katara had seen it almost used back in Omashu. That was her first encounter with the girls.

Mai pulled back her arm and threw her weapon.

Katara rolled to the side to avoid it, just in time. "Still going to fight?" Azula commented, hand on her hip. Her long dagger-like finger nails stood out. The water tribe girl couldn't help but wonder _if she has those nails, why is she fighting with firebending? _Katara jumped to avoid a sudden ball of blue fire. She sidestepped an attack from the acrobat and ducked beneath another sharp metal star. When she turned, she felt a sickening pressure on her throat. Her attacker pushed her backward until her back hit a tree, holding her above the ground. Katara squirmed trying to break free. Her airway was being blocked off…The grip tightened. The fourteen year old looked down to see two golden eyes staring up at her. It was Azula.

Zuko tried to heave himself up, breathing heavily. Katara needed his help. He struggled. He'd taken more damage than he had originally thought.

"Stop moving, wench." the princess commanded. The waterbender kicked at her stomach but it didn't help. Azula's free hand flared with a flame and in an instant, it gripped the younger girl's chin. Katara screamed in searing agony, tears making a river flow down her face. In an instant, the firebender pulled away. "I said stop moving!" The waterbender obeyed this time, whimpering slightly.

The exiled prince's eyes widened when he saw what his sister had done. He knew Azula was ruthless, but this was… His eyes narrowed as he pushed himself up on his knees, slowly and painfully rising to his feet.

"Who do you think you are?" Azula yelled, shaking the waterbender. "Even in exile, my brother has a higher social status than you! You're a lowly peasant!" Katara winced, closing her eyes. It wasn't like she could be any more than a peasant. There was no form of government in the Southern Water Tribe.

"Look at me, you little brat!" The waterbender's shoulders were shaken again. The waterbender did as told, meeting the piercing gold gaze of the fiery princess. "You get what you want. I'll turn you in to my father along with my traitor brother so you two can rot in a cell together for the rest of your miserable lives!" Katara's eyes narrowed. She was _not _going to let Zuko's little sister do this to her. She wasn't going to be insulted or pushed around or burned anymore. And there was no way she was getting captured. The water tribe girl kicked toward her captor's stomach. It pushed her back, but only slightly. "You have some nerve--"

But Katara never heard why she had some nerve. She brought her knees to her chest and kicked again, pushing Azula's shoulders. The princess fell back with closed eyes, clutching her shoulder and collarbone. The waterbender landed and jumped to avoid another star.

Zuko watched as he made his way over, limping. He smiled. Who said Katara couldn't fight without her bending? He saw her conspicuously grab every star Mai threw at her, tucking it in her sleeve. She might not be able to use them as well as the Fire Nation girl but it was something.

Katara dodged Ty Lee's cobra strike and stopped behind the girl. She struck in the same style toward both of her arms. Katara had seen the acrobat do this once before to Sokka. Hopefully it would have the same effect. "Hey!" the acrobat cried. It did. Her arms hung limp. Mai ignored her friend and stepped in, throwing another star. This time, the waterbender wasn't fast enough. The projectile hit her forearm and she cried out.

"That's what you--" Mai was cut off by a streak of orange flame. She flew back, hitting her head so she was unconscious. Katara turned to face Zuko who was leaning against a tree with a half grimace half smile on his face.

"Sorry it took me so long." he said.

"It's alright." Katara said with a small smile. The burn on her jaw still hurt, so she didn't smile too much. She watched Ty Lee try to stand without her arms. Azula had her eyes shut tight and she was still clutching her shoulder.

"Come on." Zuko said, motioning to Katara. She nodded, following.

"Hey!" Azula yelled. "Get back here! We're not finished yet!"

"I think you are." Katara replied, smiling. It was worth the pain.

"You better watch out! You'll be sorry, wench! I'll get you both!" Zuko and Katara didn't hear the rest of Azula's ranting. They were already on Chi with their belongings, riding away.

o0oOo0o

Toph woke up to the smell of pine and a soft fabric on her cheek. Her eyes widened. She was leaning against Aang! She tried to sit up, but she found she couldn't. The Avatar's arm was clamped around her waist. The scratchy fabric of her blanket rubbed against her skin and she felt another one on top of it. It was wrapped around both of the twelve year olds. _Stupid Sokka. _She thought. The sound of Aang snoring brought her back to reality.

She sniffed the air. By her judgment, it was still quite a while before sunrise. When she listened carefully, she heard the slight crackle of a fire. It was really only coals. She felt the bit of heat it gave off, but otherwise, the night chilled her to the bone. Without thinking, she snuggled closer to her friend. She closed her eyes and willed herself to sleep.

She didn't notice, but the snoring had stopped. Aang watched the girl he was holding with gray eyes. He smiled. He bowed his head and kissed the top of her head.

And what he didn't realize was that she was still awake.

o0oOo0o

The exiled prince and water tribe peasant finally stopped after another long ride. They had gone across the grassy plains and partway around a nearby mountain. There was another forest bordering the side of the mountain, and, lucky for the pair, the entire mountainside was littered with caves. They chose one out. It was small; maybe eight by eight feet. But it was the perfect one. There was a small climb to the shelter which made it harder to get to not only for them, but for their three enemies as well.

The tired ostrich-horse curled up in the corner, nodding off almost immediately. Zuko and Katara unloaded their blankets and laid them out. The fire prince pulled out two pieces of fruit. The waterbender gladly caught it, sitting down on the cold stone with a thump. At least she wasn't sore anymore. Her water-healing had taken care of their injuries. After setting the bag of feed out for Chi, Zuko joined her.

"You did really well back there." Zuko complimented, taking a huge bite from his pear.

"Thanks." Katara's cheeks were stained with a blush. The firebender smiled to himself and he kept eating.

Just as he was finishing his companion was slipping under her blanket, yawning. Zuko did the same. He pulled her close, her blue eyes opening. She blushed again as she snuggled into his warm chest and he looped his arms around her slim waist. Katara closed her eyes again, feeling her sweetheart's breath on her cheek. Zuko followed suit. He adjusted himself one last time before the pair fell into a peaceful slumber.

And the newly awakened Chi just sat there staring at the pair. Was this normal?

o0oOo0o

Azula groaned as Ty Lee tied her sling. The acrobats arms were working just fine now, Mai was awake, but the princess wouldn't be able to do much for a while. She had nearly thrown her cheerful friend in the river when she had given the diagnosis. Azula's own words rang in her ears. _"I can't have a broken collarbone! I need to capture my pansy of a brother and that water wench!" _Mai had assured her they'd keep hot on their trail. This had soothed the firebender, but not by much.

"There you go." Ty Lee said cheerfully. Azula muttered an insult under her breath and Ty Lee got a pot of tea off of a small fire. The brooding Mai sat with her back against a tall tree, stroking the fork she had thrown at Katara. Her already narrow eyes narrowed even more.

"Angry, Mai?" Azula asked, sipping her cup of tea.

"About what?"

"The fight." the princess replied, paying no mind to Mai's more than bitter tone.

"Why would I be?"

"Because you like Zuko." Ty Lee chimed in. Her angry friend stood, throwing her weapon at the acrobat. The pink-clad girl did a summersault to avoid the projectile. It landed with a thwack behind her, plunging deep into the bark of a tree. Ty Lee just stared at her friend blinking once. Then twice. Azula shrugged with her good shoulder.

"It's true."

"We were children!" Mai shouted. "I don't anymore!" Ty Lee and Azula exchanged knowing glances. With a huff of frustration and a flail of the arms, Mai exited to the shadows to sit behind a different tree. But not before retrieving her beloved weapon.

o0oOo0o

Toph woke up surprisingly cheerful. Sokka was about to ask why she was acting so strangely when the Avatar showed up. His yellow shirt was hung over his arm and his feet left a dark trail behind him. "Found a stream to splash around in?" Toph asked with a wide grin. The water tribe boy backed away, making an excuse about finding some food. Not that they needed it. The sack was full. But Toph was _freaking _him _out. _

"Yeah. I figured I should practice a little." Aang turned to Sokka, equally cheerful smile on his face. Sokka groaned inwardly. This was too much happy too early. "Do you want to pack up camp? We can stop around noon for lunch and a little bit of earthbending."

"I didn't think you actually did any earthbending yesterday." Sokka commented, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, but I'll do it today. I can feel it." the multi-bender said. He turned to pack up his belongings. "Hard like a rock…" The water tribe warrior turned to Toph for an explanation but froze with his finger in the air, eyes wide. The little earthbending girl was humming a quiet tune, stroking Momo's ears. Showing no sign of hostility, anger, or sarcasm.

Sokka spazzed. He did what I like to call… The Sokka Dance (A/N: you know when he freaks out about the whole curse thing in the Cave of Two Lovers?).

Sokka Dance!

o0oOo0o

**A/N: How was it? Sorry there wasn't a lot of Zutara. More in next chappie!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hi! Sorry for the slow update. Virus problem and then I couldn't get a document on the internet and I was like 'Grr.' Yah. **

o0oOo0o

Zuko woke when something (or someone) stirred in his arms. He opened a single golden eye to see Katara asleep in his arms. Her long chocolate hair streamed down her shoulders and her face was peaceful. A small smile graced her lips. The firebender looked over his shoulder toward the entrance of the small cave. It was light out, but just barely. Good. He hadn't slept in. He turned his attention back to the sleeping girl in his arms. He smiled as she snuggled deeper into his chest for warmth. The morning was bitter cold despite it being spring.

He didn't want to wake her. That would mean dragging her back into a painful reality of war. She had no mother and her father was at war. Katara was thousands of miles from home running from the Fire Nation princess with a fugitive. She didn't believe the Avatar or her brother needed her. But in her sleep, Katara was peaceful and happy. Her dreams were tranquil.

"Zuko! Help…" she mumbled, stirring again. Or not.

"Shh. It's a dream." the young man whispered in her ear, lips grazing her cheek. Katara seemed to loosen up with the influence of Zuko being there. Then she squirmed again. "Katara. I'm here. You're safe." The firebender felt a surge of emotion run through him. He loved holding her; making her feel safe and loved. She calmed down again, mumbling something he couldn't understand. Her voice squeaked and he pulled the waterbender closer.

Her curves fit perfectly against his muscular chest. He felt his heart rate quicken as he tightened his hold about her waist. "It's only a dream. It's alright. No one can hurt you. You're a master waterbender and you've got me behind you." Suddenly, Katara's eyes flickered open. They were wide and filled with fear. Zuko pulled her even closer, their noses touching.

"It's okay. It was only a dream." The firebender assured her. Katara swallowed hard.

"It was so scary." she squeaked. She squeezed her eyes shut, leaning against Zuko's chest.

"What happened?"

"Sokka… We were at the last battle. And…you were holding off your father and Azula while Aang took care of the comet… and Sokka and Toph and I were fighting. Toph went off somewhere and Sokka…" A tear seeped from the waterbender's eye. "He was killed. And I could have stopped it. I could have--"

"It wasn't your fault." Zuko said firmly. He ran his hand up and down her spine, savoring the feeling. "It was a dream. It's not real. You don't need to beat yourself up over it."

Katara swallowed and nodded, crawling higher to come face to face with the firebender. She smiled, gazing into his capturing copper eyes. He gazed back into hers with the same far-off smile. He laid a gentle kiss on her lips, making both smiles widen. He closed his eyes, snuggling into her hair. It smelled like wildflowers and water. How he knew what water smelled like, he hadn't a clue. Katara pulled back to rest her head in the crook of his neck. They lay like that for a while with Zuko twisting the waterbender's hair around his finger. And they finally kissed a long, burning passionate kiss. The man's hand ran up and down her back and she pulled him closer by the neck. The way their bodies were pressed together, it was nearly impossible to distinguish where one body ended and another began. Zuko rolled over, straddling the waterbender, heart racing. He was panting slightly and she was too. He leaned down to kiss her again with even more passion and love, tracing lines up and down her sides. He moved his hand to her stomach, slipping it under the hem of her shirt…

And Chi squawked. The pair looked up to see the ostrich-horse sitting in its corner, head cocked in curiosity.

"Zuko, not in front of the children!" Katara mocked, unable to stifle a giggle. Zuko laughed, rolling off the girl. He stood and pulled her up too.

"We should get going." the firebender suggested, gathering their belongings. Katara nodded.

o0oOo0o

"Good morning earthbending student!" Toph said in a sing-song voice. She nudged Aang with her foot, not letting go of the ring on Appa's saddle. She felt so disoriented without that ring.

Sokka groaned, rolling away from the girl, all the way to the other side of the saddle. This was the second morning in a row she had woken up extremely and utterly giddy. It was getting old. One overly happy person was enough. Aang sat up with his gray eyes still half-lidded. He yawned, mumbling something. Toph leaned over, holding onto the Avatar's arm so she could crawl over without pulling a stunt like two days ago. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked up to see his earthbending mentor in front of him, holding onto his arm. Man was he slow in the mornings. He figured it was for balance. After all, she never let go of Appa's saddle.

"We never stopped yesterday." the girl pointed out.

"And I really gotta go to the bathroom." Sokka added, not moving. His voice was muffled from all the blankets he used.

"Okay. I'll find somewhere to land Appa." Aang said, standing. Toph held onto him still. "Want to come?" he asked. She gave a nod and he led her to the reins, sitting on the flying bison's head. The earthbender readjusted herself, now holding onto Aang's hand. If she noticed, she didn't show it. The young airbender had, however. He blushed, turning away. He forgot Toph couldn't see him.

"Uh… You'll need to hold onto something else. I need my hands for this." Aang said awkwardly. He swallowed.

"Right." She held tight to his knee. The boy swallowed again, taking the reins in his hands and guiding Appa toward a forest. As they came in for a landing, Toph gripped his hand again, nearly losing her balance. They fell off the bison in a heap as they hit the ground. Sokka, who had by this point crawled out of his sleeping bag, ran off into the woods. The earthbender stood, stepping away from her pinned student, blushing and smiling nervously.

"Sorry. I'm still trying to get used to the landings."

"Right." Aang replied, tugging at his collar. An awkward silence fell over them like a blanket. Toph took her friend's hand, leading him to the center of their clearing.

"Let's try earthbending again, Twinkle Toes."

o0oOo0o

Zuko and Katara bounced along a trail, riding Chi. The ostrich-horse was well rested and was already making good distance between them and Azula. It was a little bit before noon. They hadn't stopped once all morning; not even for water. The waterbender had the sense to fill both of their pouches before they left the cave. But they were empty and they were passing a river. The firebender pulled on the leather reins, making Chi squawk and come to a stop, clawing at the ground.

Katara jumped off, taking Zuko's pouch for him, filling it. He led the steed to the stream for a drink. After a quick bathroom break, they were off again, Katara praising the ostrich-horse. The girl really seemed to have a thing for animals. The firebender smiled to himself, kissing his girlfriend's cheek. She smiled, leaning back against him. She could really get used to traveling like this.

o0oOo0o

"Ty Lee, hurry up!" Azula yelled over her shoulder. This acrobat was really getting on the princess's nerves. Ty Lee was always stopping to smell the flowers. Literally. She caught up with the other two girls, smiling ear to ear. She put a small red wildflower in Mai's hair with a giggle. She did the same to Azula's. The princess ripped it from her bangs with her good arm at an instant, throwing it to the ground and lighting it on fire. She stomped it out and continued on her way. Her face was fiercer than ever. And her collar bone really hurt…

Ty Lee looked hurt. With a sigh, Mai plucked a flower from the ground, tucking it in the acrobat's hair. The pink-clad girl beamed.

"I can't believe you, Ty Lee!" Azula fumed. "We would have been out of that stupid campsite by sunrise if you had got ready when I woke you up! Mai was ready to go but we had to wait for you to fill your canteen and _wash your face._" The angered princess threw out her arm. "It's not like we have to look _pretty _during a war! Just get up and go!"

Mai had sense enough to keep her distance while Azula had her little fit. She kicked the flowers like a small child. Azula might have been a spectacular fighter and fierce firebender on the outside, but Mai thought the princess was still daddy's little girl on the inside. Spoiled. Not that she had ever admitted that out loud.

o0oOo0o

Zuko and Katara stopped in another cave that night. They had made it all the way around the mountain and there was a town very nearby. They would stop there in the morning to buy some new clothes. Theirs was in sorry shape and Katara stuck out like a sore thumb in her blue outfit. They didn't have much money, but it would be enough if they kept their underclothes and shoes. Hopefully.

They settled down again, Katara snuggling into Zuko. She loved how he was so warm. She yawned, biding him goodnight as she drifted off to sleep. The firebender said nothing, only watched her sleep.

It wasn't fair that she was caught up in this…

o0oOo0o

**A/N: Fluffy! Too much? TELL ME! (Shakes screen)**

**REVIEW, SWEATERMONKEYS! (Ha ha. It's from 'Bring It On.' That is one good movie.)**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hi! I loved writing this chapter!I hope you like it just as well.**

**Okay, girly ranting over.**

o0oOo0o

Aang ran back to camp at full speed to see Sokka sitting on a humongous rock, sharpening his boomerang. The Avatar was practically leaping for joy. He could barely contain the excitement inside him. "Sokka, look!" The water tribe warrior looked up just in time to see Aang stomp on the ground, sending a column of earth straight into the air. Sokka turned back to his boomerang without a smile.

"Good job, Aang." The younger boy froze. Sokka wasn't smiling or even shooting him sarcastic remarks. Aang was just about to ask what was wrong when—

"What's wrong with you, Snoozles?" Toph asked, walking into the campsite. Sokka shook his head, saying nothing. "Aw, sharpen your boomerang 'til ya feel better." With a wave of her hand, she was gone, walking back out of the clearing.

"Are you sure you're alright?" the monk asked, plopping down in front of his friend.

"Katara's been gone for a week!" Sokka shouted, throwing his boomerang on the ground. It stuck in the dirt, blade gleaming in the bright sunlight. "And we haven't found her yet. I know she's a master waterbender and all but what if she runs into those girls from Omashu? What if Zuko comes back? She can't win a fight against them single-handedly!" The Avatar nodded. Their blood ran cold when they realized someone was listening in on them.

"Did someone say 'girls from Omashu'?" The boys jerked around to see the same three girls from the earthbending city. The leader, in maroon armor, stepped forward. "There is no more Omashu. I renamed it in honor of my father." Her voice was soft and sweet as honey but it changed to dangerous and harsh in an instant. "New Ozai."

"It's still Omashu to those that call it that!" Aang yelled back. His fists were clenched and his brows furrowed.

"Touchy, are we Avatar?"

"Have the city you loved as a child be renamed and taken over by enemy nations and we'll see who's touchy!" Sokka sat there, following the argument. Was it just him, or was Aang a little harsh today?

The leader only chuckled, good hand on her hip. The Avatar arched a teasing eyebrow. "What did you do to your arm?"

"Broken collar bone, if you want to know so badly." she said. She examined her nails as if she was bored. "From your stupid water wench and her boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" Sokka exclaimed.

"Oh. You didn't know about that? I thought you'd _let_ her run off and get married." The girl's eyes peered over her hand and a small smirk played at her face. Ty Lee and Mai kept quiet, only smirking to play along. There goes Azula and her lying again…

"I'd never let her do that!"

"Really? Well, do you want me to tell her fire prince that?"

Sokka and Aang only stared at her. It couldn't be… "MY SISTER WOULD NEVER MARRY ZUKO!" The water tribe boy stood with his boomerang, ready to fight.

"Yes, well it seems I don't like my brother's arrangements either." Sokka froze. Did she just say Zuko was her brother? "We'll be in-laws. Princess Azula of the Fire Nation and some stupid water peasant." The boys stood there, staring in awe.

But out of nowhere, the earth shook and quaked, sending the three girls tumbling off their feet. The boys looked towards the woods to see Toph still in the same position, fierce determination on her face. "Get to Appa!" she yelled. Aang couldn't help but notice that she did know his bison's name. They both turned and ran, grabbing their belongings as they went. Toph brought her arms together, stomping on the ground. A wall formed so that it blocked the girls from getting to them. She ran towards the bison herself, tumbling on just as the wall cracked and broke, dust clouding the air. She held tight to Aang's foot as he yelled.

"Yip-yip!" He sent a gust of air toward the girls, knocking them off balance long enough for them to take off. "We did it!" the Avatar exclaimed. He spoke too soon. A huge crack echoed through the air and when he turned, he saw the source. An enormous streak of blue lightning was headed straight for them. It hit Appa on one of his feet, making the beast groan in agony and begin to fall.

"What's going on?" Toph exclaimed. On the bison, vibrations were gone; there was no earth she could feel them with.

"Appa's hit! We're going down!" Sokka yelled, grabbing onto the side of the saddle. Aang did the same, pulling his earthbending friend with him. They heard Appa groan louder as they all shut their eyes tight, blocking out the world around them. Momo chattered and the trees below them grew tauntingly closer. Finally, the trees began to snap, crack, splinter, and fall. Appa skidded to a painful halt in the dirt, clouds of it forming around him.

o0oOo0o

Katara and Zuko stood at the river, once again filling their canteens. All was peaceful and quiet. Needless to say, they whipped around in hearing a deafening cracking noise. Sure enough, the sky lit up with a faint blue streak. Lightning. Their eyes widened. Either Azula was having a tantrum or she found someone else to fight. The Fire Nation fugitive opened his mouth to speak, but stopped. Over the trees, they saw a beige spot. It was moving and soon enough, the lightning collided with it. The spot let out a pained, hurt groan, rumbling the forest around them.

"Appa." Katara breathed, tears brimming in her eyes. Zuko watched her cautiously. He wasn't sure if he should say something or… The flying spot, now identified as a flying bison, was rapidly descending into the forest. The waterbender's hands flew to her face as she watched in fear. Her friends were in danger and without Appa, they stood no chance. The snapping and cracking of trees filled the forest and the bison groaned ever louder. The ground shook on impact and then there was silence. Even the normally squawking Chi was deathly quiet, looking around the forest for a sign of the noise.

The water tribe girl was silent and unmoving. Zuko reached out a shaking hand to comfort her, but she turned to face him with streams of salty tears pouring down her face. "We have to help them!" The firebender gave a slight nod.

The pair hopped on Chi. The ostrich-horse sprinted through the thick forest toward Katara's fallen friends.

o0oOo0o

Aang looked around, coughing up dust. He'd fallen off Appa and his head throbbed. He groaned through his coughing fit, looking around to find his friends. He saw Sokka already standing. The boy held his boomerang in his hand. Other than shaky knees, the water tribe warrior didn't appear to be injured. Aang looked over to see his unconscious Spirit Guide and his horrible injuries. There were thin, long cuts along his stomach from the trees. A hole was in his back left foot from the lightning strike of the princess. But where was Toph?

The Avatar found his answer when the dust cleared. She lay near Appa, eyes closed. Fear gripped the airbender's stomach. He hurried over, checking for a pulse. He sighed in relief when he found one. "Hide her so they don't find her." Sokka said from over his young friend's shoulder. The boy nodded, picking Toph up and putting her behind his trusted bison, bushes on her other side.

He came out just in time to see the Fire Nation girls come into the new clearing full of tree stumps.

"You can't get away that easily, Avatar." Azula said. A blue flame flickered at her hand. The other two girls stood at the ready. Aang's eyes narrowed. "You'll never escape."

"We can try." Sokka said, throwing his boomerang. It missed Azula. She smirked.

"You're pathetic."

"Am I?" he asked, holding out his hand. The boomerang circled back and hit the firebender in the back, making her fall over. Aang launched an air ball toward them. Ty Lee flipped out of the way while Azula jumped. Mai was the only one there to take the force, flying backwards into the bushes. The princess flung a fireball at the pair, narrowly missing the water tribe boy. Ty Lee did a huge flip forward, extending a kick. Sokka dodged it, taking a swing at her with his club.

The acrobat dodged it. She set up a cobra attack, but Sokka backed away. He was _not _loosing the use of his limbs. He growled and brought up his club again. A maroon dart flew through the air, attaching the boy's sleeve to the tree behind him. His eyes narrowed in seeing the ninja standing behind the acrobat. Sokka raised his other arm. It became pinned to the tree as well.

The two non-benders saw he was incapacitated. They moved on to help Azula. She was fighting the Avatar one on one, but wasn't faring too well. Getting used to her limited mobility was hard. She attempted use at the bad one only to pull it back, grimacing in pain. Aang also noticed this along with the fact that she was off-balance. This fight would be easier than he thought.

But he didn't count on the other two girls joining the fray. The airbender didn't know what had happened to Sokka—he couldn't see him. But then again, maybe he didn't want to know right now. He focused intently on the fight, dodging darts, fire, and cobra strikes. Finally, he was knocked to the ground by a punch to the stomach. He groaned, trying to get up.

"It seems you need the help of your little earthbending friend, hmm?" Azula taunted. "She fights better than you even though she's blind." Aang looked up at the princess without any anger. He knew Toph was a better fighter than he was and that's why he chose her as a teacher.

"I take that as a compliment." someone said from behind the girls. Azula was the only one that didn't turn.

"Up from your little nap, blind girl?" Azula teased, sickening smirk spreading across her face. The Avatar saw Toph's eyes narrow as she sent a ripple of earth toward them.

"KNEES HIGH TWINKLE TOES!" Toph yelled to Aang. He jumped up and stomped his feet on the ground, sending out a ripple of earth like Toph. The ripples collided right where two of the girls were standing, sending them flying. Azula sweep kicked the Avatar, but he avoided it.

Toph took on Mai while Sokka (who had escaped the hold by removing his shirt) fought Ty Lee.

The water tribe boy couldn't get a hit on the girl. Every time he struck, the acrobat just flipped out of the way. He was too slow. But soon, the girl was on the offensive. That meant cobra strikes. Sokka dodged some, but after the third, he went down. His arms hung limp at his sides and he glared at the girl who only smiled, hiding a giggle. She struck him again in the leg. The boy fell over, unable to get up. She moved over to help Mai.

The ninja was faring like Sokka. The earthbending girl, though blind, was as good a fighter as she'd ever seen. If she hadn't looked, she wouldn't have guessed the girl blind. Mai dodged a flying boulder, sending out a kick and a dart. Toph brought up a wall to block it and sent another rock hurtling toward both of them. The ninja was hit, flying back. The acrobat leapt up into the air to avoid it. The earthbender flinched, a hint of fear coursing through her when the girl didn't come down right away. No vibrations.

And Toph whipped around as the girl landed behind her, but not before Ty Lee struck her once. Then twice. The earthbender stumbled, trying to regain balance. The third strike was made and the earthbender's world tumbled into darkness. She fell, hands on the ground. The vibrations were there; she could feel them, but she couldn't _see _them. Her eyes widened. She stood, trying to raise a rock. She felt nothing. Why couldn't she bend? Wait. Hadn't Katara said one of the girls could take away bending? Something collided with her side and she was sent sprawling into the dirt.

"Come on, Mai. She's blind. If I took away her bending, she won't be able to fight back."

"What?"

"Earthbenders can see through the earth. That's why she fights so well."

"Oh."

Once again, the three girls crowded around the Avatar. Fear coursed through him. He'd seen what they'd done to his friends. He knew Sokka was cursing himself for not avoiding the pink-clad girl and Toph… Toph couldn't bend. She couldn't _see _without her bending. _She must be scared. _He thought. The airbender looked up at Azula from his spot on the ground. She was grinning wickedly.

"AZULA!"

The firebender in question whipped around. It couldn't be… But it was. It was the waterbender and Zuko. The girl had fierce determination written all over her face. She stood in a bending stance, water swirling around her hands.

o0oOo0o

**A/N: Phew! That was awesome! I hate the complexity of them, but I love writing fight scenes—especially this one. I hope you liked the chappie!**

**REVIEW!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Okay, you guys probably checked your alerts and you're like: what the heck is this? You probably don't even remember the story since I haven't updated in like a month. About that. I am so ridiculously sorry. I'd type it a million times but my fingers might fall off. My computer was running like crap and I have a ton of family visiting. It doesn't help that I had an extreme case of writer's block. But trust me; once I got my idea, I wanted to throw my computer out the freaking window. I was going insane! Lack…of…fanfiction! LOF!**

**I'll shut up now. Anyway, I bet you'll remember my story if you read the next paragraph. It'll come back. I know it.**

o0oOo0o

The firebender in question whipped around. It couldn't be… But it was. It was the waterbender and Zuko. The girl had fierce determination written all over her face. She stood in a bending stance, water swirling around her hands.

Aang stared at his friend, blinking once. Twice. Was she really there or was he imagining things? Maybe he hit his head too hard during the fight. Azula's eyes widened as the waterbender lashed out, creating a rope of her element. She pulled not only the princess into it, but Ty Lee and Mai as well. They were all sent flying into the bushes with an ear-splitting scream from the acrobat. _'No.' _Aang decided. _'She's there alright.'_

"Katara? You're here?" the blind girl asked, sitting up. She rubbed her head and stood.

"Katara!" Sokka said, smiling from his position on the ground. "You came just in time!" His sister smiled right back as Zuko tapped the girl on the shoulder, pointing to the bushes. The girls were pulling themselves together and untangling themselves from the troublesome brush. Sokka's eyes widened. "What the hell is _he _doing here?"

"Helping to save your paralyzed ass." the fugitive prince responded. He didn't bother looking down. Drawing his broadswords, he fell into a flawless fighting stance. Across the clearing, Azula and her friends did the same. The princess glared daggers at her opponents. Her eyes were narrowed to mere slits. Katara was ready. Water still swirled at her hands and her eyes were like an invitation saying _"Go ahead and attack me. I dare you." _

This was a dare the princess couldn't refuse. In the blink of an eye, she shot out two bursts of blue flame. Zuko deflected his while Katara ducked. Azula smiled to herself. The girl was playing right into her hands. In that split second Katara had looked down, the injured firebender breathed a thick cloud of dark smoke from her nostrils. The smoke was pushed toward her opponents by the wind, giving the princess and her friends means of cover. While the waterbender coughed up smoke, Zuko tried to bend it away. He knew what his sister was planning.

Without warning, Katara yelped, crashing into Zuko. She leapt up, back to her sweetheart. Azula had moved into the smoke as a cover so she could stay on the offensive. All Katara and Zuko had to do was wait until the smoke cleared…

But their opponents weren't giving them that chance. Diving through the cloud, Ty Lee set up a Chi-block move to the waterbender. Said bender ducked, yelling. Zuko turned at the last second but couldn't stop the oncoming girl. They both toppled to the ground, swords clattering. Katara moved to help. She never got the chance. A sharp blow to the side sent her sprawling to the ground. Azula stood over her, hand on her hip. Her smirk seemed to be boasting a victory.

The waterbender stopped coughing. She could actually breathe down here. And she could see better too. Suddenly, she smirked right back and kicked out in front of her. With wide eyes, Azula fell forward, nearly falling on her enemy. Katara rolled out of the way just in time, taking small satisfaction in hearing the firebender let out a grunt of pain. She'd fallen on her arm.

Zuko pushed the acrobat off him. She flew out of the dark cloud of smoke and into the rest of the clearing. He leapt up, following. "Zuko, duck!" The firebender ducked as a strong gust of wind flew over his head, throwing Ty Lee and Mai backward. He turned to see the Avatar standing with his trusty staff still extended. Aang smiled. "Thanks for the rescue." Zuko nodded and took after Ty Lee.

Katara crawled to find her way out of the smoke. When she did, a throwing knife flew in front of her, embedding itself in the ground. _Thwack. _She looked up to see Mai standing a few feet away, glaring daggers. And the waterbender had thought they were Azula's specialty. Leaping up, she snapped her wrist. A thin water whip stung the ninja in the face, causing her to stumble.

When the smoke cleared, Aang was attacked by the Fire Nation princess. She attempted a sweep kick and almost lost her balance. The sling around her arm was getting loose. She got right up, rapidly shooting balls of fire toward the young boy. The Avatar jumped high in the air, staff spinning above him. It came down hard on the earth, sending out a wave of air. Azula stepped to the side to avoid it. She couldn't, however, evade the ripple of earth that sent her flying. Aang smiled. He only knew a few earthbending tricks and every one that he had used in this fight had worked. Talk about a self-esteem booster!

The Fire Nation ex-prince dodged a Chi attack from Ty Lee, but just barely. He wasn't the best at dodging. The best person for this job would actually be the Avatar. Airbenders were supposed to be the fastest of all benders. Zuko struck with his swords, but Ty Lee spun away. He just caught her forearm. She winced, clutching her arm and backing away. The firebender couldn't tell how long the cut was, but it wasn't that deep. He struck again with slight hesitation and the acrobat jumped above the attack, flip-kicking him. She held up her arm for him to see. It was only a small scratch. She smiled. Her reaction had only been used to make him hesitate.

Mai dodged a small water spiral from the waterbending peasant. The weapons specialist vaguely noticed their little fray was edging toward the left side of the clearing. She fought to hide a small smirk. There was a stream in that direction meaning the girl would be in her element. The bender knew her small pouch of water would not and could not last forever. Mai cut off her opponent's path, pushing her back toward the center of the clearing. Dodging a knife, Katara stumbled backward, falling.

A gust of wind flew by thanks to Aang, knocking Ty Lee and Mai off their feet. Aang twirled his staff, flying over for an aerial attack on the two girls. Dust from the dry earth flew all around the three. Zuko charged his sister, who had barely gotten up. Katara stood and ran to help Aang.

Sokka hated sitting there doing nothing. He'd seen way too many close calls for Aang and his sister today and there was nothing he could do about it. If only he hadn't let that girl get him! He tried to move, but his extremities were still numb. With a grunt, he let his eyes follow the fight.

Toph crawled across the clearing to where she thought Sokka should be. She found nothing. "Sokka! Where are you?" she called.

"Over here." he replied. His voice was very close. At least she hadn't been off by a mile. She made her way over to him. "When I can move again…" he mumbled.

"And when I can bend again…"

"All hell breaks loose." they said together, eyes narrowed in determination.

Katara dodged a dart from Mai, freezing Ty Lee's feet to the ground. Aang summoned what little water he could from the ground, making a shield of it. He through the shield at the ninja and Katara froze her feet too. Mai broke free in no time, kicking them both away. Her weapons were rendered useless in such close proximity. She freed her friend of her icy hold and was knocked back by a ball of ice. Katara stood triumphant, morphing the ice ball into a stream of water. Suddenly, she was sent to the ground from an attack from behind. It was Azula. Zuko lay in the center of the clearing, rubbing his head as he stood. The Fire Nation princess stood over the waterbender with a smirk. She shot Aang to the side where Ty Lee and Mai kept him busy.

"Do you have any idea how degrading it is to be bested by a waterbending peasant?" Azula asked. Katara glared. "But I'll rid the world of stupid peasants like you. Then my nation will be glad. There will be less people to resist us." The venom in her voice sent cold chills up the waterbender's spine. And she froze, unable to move or speak or even breathe. The princess raised a fist encased in blue flame to fire, but she never got the chance.

It was Momo to the rescue again. He landed on the firebender's face, pulling at it and her hair. Azula screamed bloody murder and through the animal away as if it was poison. She actually looked scared. Katara bit her lip in a smile. "What's the matter, 'Zula? Never seen a lemur?" With that, the waterbender sweep kicked the princess. She ran before the angry blue flames engulfed her.

She looked up to see Mai holding off Zuko. She kicked him and he fell hard. She pulled out another knife when suddenly Chi barreled into the clearing, squawking like mad. He rammed Mai so she was sent flying into Azula. The ostrich-horse sniffed indignantly, stomping his feet. Katara was sure if Chi could talk he'd say something pretty obscene to Mai right now.

"I told you he likes you, Zuko!" Katara called, going to help Aang. The firebender smiled, joining her. When they reached the fray, the Avatar was working on getting himself out of a tree. The ex-prince rolled his eyes, keeping Ty Lee busy while the waterbender freed her friend.

"Ow! Katara!" the airbender complained. The girl was pulling him in a way he shouldn't have been pulled. She stopped, hands on her hips. "Pull me straight out."

"I'm not that tall!"

Ty Lee evaded yet another attack from Zuko's broadswords. The firebender decided enough was enough. He was supposed to be a firebender! Leaping forward, he brought his swords to the ground, pulling a wave of red-orange flames in its wake. The acrobat flew back. She was up in no time, knocking Zuko over with her feet. She stood in a ready stance while her opponent merely stood with his arms crossed, legs straight. He smirked as if he knew some huge secret. He stepped to the side.

A rock erupted from the ground and Ty Lee went flying. She screamed even louder than Azula had when Momo attacked. Toph stood next to Sokka, a broad smile on her face. Zuko couldn't help but think the little girl looked somewhat maniacal with her bangs in her face. She stomped the ground, making a rock rise up.

"TWINKLE TOES!" she yelled, throwing the rock. Aang (who had been freed from the tree) turned and used his earthbending to ram Mai and Azula into the forest. Ty Lee was flipping back over, ready to attack the Avatar. "ROCK-LIKE!" the blind girl yelled. The multi-bender dug his heel into the ground, bringing up a wall of earth. He stomped the ground and sent out a ripple of earth that pulled the wall along with it.

Katara was working on healing Appa. There was no way they could beat these three, even with Toph bending again. Their only hope was to get out of there. The pained flying bison woke as his injuries lessened. He grunted in agony. The waterbender went as fast as she could, being careful to heal the bison to the best of her ability. But the inevitable happened. She ran out of water.

Peering around one of Appa's feet, she looked out into the clearing. There was only one word for it: chaos. If this was a small battle, what would the final one look like at summer's end? Scorch marks littered the ground (along with Sokka). Sokka's shirt was pinned to a thick tree trunk while all four elements ran rampant. Aang was flicking out water whips left and right, accompanied by gusts of wind. Zuko was on fire with his broadswords. Toph…well, Toph was going a bit crazy.

Their enemies couldn't stay on their feet. Between the three of her friends, they had it under control. She let out a grunt of frustration.

Toph raised a wall of earth, sending them hurling out as fast as she could. Mai was knocked unconscious in seconds.

"This girl is crazy!" Azula yelled to no one in particular. She dodged another chunk of rock as Ty Lee got knocked back. This was not looking good.

"Katara!" Aang said as he got close. He had seen his friend healing Appa and he had guessed correctly in thinking she needed more water. "Come on, I have an idea. Appa, I need you to fly as well as you can."

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**A/N: Phew. This is a really long fight scene! It'll end in the next chapter, I swear. Once I get going, you can't stop me. **

**Please review! **

**Oh, and sorry for the slow update _again. _**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hi again! New chappie already! I just wanted to get a good chunk of the story in before more of my family comes to visit soon. Enjoy!**

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Katara had no earthly idea what Aang was doing, telling Appa to fly. The bison had been struck by lightning for Yue's sake! The poor bison was in searing, burning, unbearable agony! Despite his horrible injuries, however, the loyal Spirit Guide groaned and hovered about a foot above the ground. The Avatar whispered things in his ear, telling him how good he was and that he'd feel much better soon. Appa flew behind his master obediently, trusting him. Aang used his airbending to clear some trees out of the way. The trees were sent crashing into one another, snapping and cracking. And that's when the waterbender figured out what the boy was doing. He was leading his bison to the stream.

Azula took her eyes off her opponents just long enough to see the Avatar clearing trees out of his path, leading his bison. The creature, amazingly, was flying. It was only about a foot off the ground, but it was still flying. She turned her attention back to the crazy little earthbender before her. The girl was totally and completely insane. She was raising heavy boulders up from the ground and hurling them at the princess as if they weighed as much as a copper piece.

Zuko just stood behind her, arms crossed with a smug look on his face. "Bet you'll think twice before insulting her again, huh Azula?" he mocked. She fumed. Her brother was so different now. He wasn't so cold and harsh (although he didn't seem that cold or harsh before) and now he seemed rather carefree. The earthbender smiled, raising four walls around her opponent to form a small cell. She put a roof on it for good measure. She didn't want that firebender escaping any time soon.

Appa splashed into the river, groaning in relief or pain, Katara couldn't tell. The waterbender hurried over, rethinking the Avatar's clever plan. Said boy hurried off to fight Ty Lee. The stubborn acrobat hadn't been knocked out by Toph's wild rampage. Taking a deep breath, Katara used flowing movements to push a small wave up to Appa's underside. The bison groaned again.

Katara was nervous. She had never done or even heard of what Aang had suggested. He'd told her to try and heal Appa using a wave of water instead of her hands. Concentrating hard, the water swirled around Appa's entire body, leaving his head free. It was working! The water turned a glowing bluish-white.

And that's when a dart flew out of nowhere. Katara dodged it at the last second but not without stumbling. She fell into the water with a splash and the water around Appa sank back into the river. The bison groaned again, trying to get up to help. He knew the girl that threw the dart had tried to hurt his friend.

The water tribe girl stood dripping, looking over at Mai. The weapons specialist stood on the bank, darts splayed in her long fingers. "What are you up to?" the girl thought aloud. Her eyes were narrowed; she didn't think the girl should be doing whatever she was doing. Call it instinct.

"Now?" Katara asked, summoning up a spiral of water beneath her, "I'm going to freeze a girl named Mai in a block of ice." Mai's eyes widened in seeing the peasant's actual power. The ninja had believed the waterbender had been bluffing when she'd claimed to be a master bender. And now the master bender was in her element. Willing her element into a foaming wave, Katara brought it crashing down on the Fire Nation girl. But said Fire Nation girl dove to the side at the last second.

"Aang might need your help." Toph said to Zuko. Her arms were still held in their position should the princess even attempt to escape. Even if she tried, the ceiling would come crashing down on her, more than likely.

With a nod, the prince hurried to join the fray.

Aang dodged a Chi-blocking attack, sweeping the girl off her feet with a gust of wind. She did a backhand spring to avoid falling. What she didn't count on was a burst of flame knocking her off her feet. The Avatar looked toward Zuko. "What about helping Toph?" he asked, brow raised.

The firebender in question merely pointed a thumb over his shoulder. Aang nodded, blinking. "Looks like she has things under control." Aang said, gulping.

Mai threw a handful of darts that Katara narrowly missed. The waterbender's concentration broke and she fell onto the bank. She had barely pushed herself up on her hands before the relentless Fire Nation girl had thrown another dart. The waterbender rolled to the side, standing. Before she knew what had hit her—_wham. _Mai held Katara's hands over her head, pinned against a tree.

"Do you have any idea who I am?" the girl asked. Katara glared at her. She would not show any fear.

"Mai. Weapons specialist." the waterbender said darkly. The other girl's face faltered slightly, but not by much. "And you've been friends with Ty Lee and Princess Azula since you could walk." Mai's face lost its edge, leaving the waterbender her opportunity.

She brought her knee up to the girl's stomach, causing her to double over. Katara flipped their positions and pinned Mai to the tree by her sleeves, using the knives she had taken in the last fight. Mai's light eyes widened.

"How did you--"

"I couldn't bend so I used any resources I could." Katara replied with a shrug, moving over to help Appa.

Toph screamed suddenly from across the clearing. Aang turned, leaving Zuko to fight Ty Lee, one on one. In no time, the Avatar saw what the fuss was. Azula had broken free of her rock cell, rolling out of the way just before the ceiling collapsed on her. Toph had avoided strong flame-edged attacks from the princess, but because of the close proximity of the fight, earthbending had been rendered near useless.

Aang dove in, freezing Azula's feet to the ground. Toph backed up, standing ready should her friend need any help. Summoning air currents with his staff, said friend brought down a column of air. The enemy firebender was ripped free of her icy holds. She flew back, sling blowing off her arm. The girl stood at an instant, but soon realized her sling was gone. Judging by her cringe, the Avatar bet she was in pain. Nevertheless, the princess pulled up her bad arm and continued to fight.

Out of nowhere, the acrobat was sent flying into her firebending friend. They both cried out as they toppled to the ground and the firebender let out a cry. Aang turned to see Zuko sheathing his broadswords. Beyond him, the boy saw Katara running into the clearing. Behind her was Appa who was fully healed and ready to go. She waved them over.

They all ran toward Appa, Sokka included. The water tribe warrior stumbled a bit, having just regained use of his limbs. "Why is Princey boy coming with us? He'll kill Aang!" Sokka yelled, flailing his arms.

"No he won't Sokka! Just climb on!" Katara yelled, climbing up Appa's tail. Toph got up with aid from her bending while Aang airbended his way to his Spirit Guide's head. Sokka scrambled on, shortly followed by Zuko. The Avatar bended the squawking ostrich-horse onto the saddle and they were off. Ty Lee was up and running after the bison, but a quick boomerang throw from Sokka stopped that.

But Azula was up by the time they had got to a good flying level, shooting lightning up at them. Appa swerved on his own accord. He was not going through that pain again. Zuko stood up, careful not to topple over the edge. "Zuko, sit down! You'll fall!" Katara yelled over the whipping wind and cracking lightning. She tugged on his shirt for good measure.

"And we won't catch you!" Sokka added, glaring daggers at the prince.

"Aang!" the ex-prince called over his shoulder. The Avatar turned. "Fly just a little lower!"

"Are you nuts?" Sokka exclaimed, hands flying to his head.

"Why do you want to fly lower?" Toph yelled, looking up despite the fact she couldn't see anything.

"Trust me!" the firebender yelled.

"No! You tried to kill us!" Leave it to Katara's brother to be stubborn.

"Why, Zuko?" Aang called back.

"Trust me!"

"Just do it, Aang!" Katara yelled. The Avatar nodded and flew a little lower, causing Appa to groan.

A streak of blue lightning shot right at them, but they moved, aiming toward the ex-prince. Katara screamed. Zuko ignored it. He was calm. He seemed to catch the lightning, bringing his arm down to his stomach and back up the same arm. The lightning shot out of his arm, but now it was orange. The bolt plummeted back down to the earth. It made its contact in the clearing. Azula and her reassembled friends fly backward, but he hadn't hit them.

Everyone on Appa looked on with wide eyes (save Toph; she didn't know what had happened). They were all silent as the firebender turned and sat down, grimacing slightly. Finally, Aang broke the silence. "You've got to teach me how to do that!"

"Do what?" Toph asked. "What did he do?"

"He redirected the lightning that creepy girl threw at us!" Aang burst, bending himself onto the saddle.

"Oh. Now who did this?" Toph replied.

"Zuko!" the Avatar exclaimed.

"Wasn't he the one trying to kill you?" she asked, arching a brow.

"That's what I've been _saying!_" Sokka fumed as he pulled on his shirt.

"He's not trying to kill us!" Katara snapped, arms thrust heavenward. Her older brother narrowed his eyes.

"That firebending girl said you two were in love!"

Silence.

"KATARA!" Sokka yelled. "YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH A FIREBENDER? HE WAS TRYING TO KILL US!"

"Notice the wording." Zuko muttered, just loud enough for the water tribe warrior to hear.

"WHAT ABOUT THE WORDING, PRINCEY BOY?" It looked as if Sokka's eyes were about to pop out of his head. Zuko sniffed, looking at the water tribe boy in front of him without any emotion in his features.

"You said 'was trying to kill us' not 'is trying to kill us'." The ex-prince wasn't being arrogant or sarcastic or even smug. Sokka narrowed his eyes further. Before anyone could do anything, said warrior pounced on the firebender, hands around his throat.

"WAS! IS! IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE!"

"SOKKA!" Katara yelled. Aang sat frozen as he had the entire time, eyes open wide, mouth wider.

"DON'T-GO-NEAR-MY-SISTER!" Sokka shook Zuko violently, grip cutting off the firebender's air supply. Chi started squawking while Momo chattered. Appa let out a groan and if anyone had seen him, they would have seen his eyes shift in an attempt to see what was going on.

"SOKKA! GET OFF HIM!" Katara screamed, tugging on her brother's shoulders. Suddenly, Zuko pulled back an arm, punching his attacker in the face. Sokka fell back, barely missing a surprised Toph. The firebender breathed deeply, holding the side of the saddle so tight, his knuckles whitened.

Sokka sat up with a bloody nose. "You jerk!" Katara moved over to Zuko, moving his hands away from his neck. Finger shaped bruises were already forming. The waterbender uncorked her flask, forming healing blue gloves over her tan hands. "Katara, what are you doing?"

"What the hell does it look like I'm doing?" the girl snapped, venom dripping from her voice.

Toph crawled over to Aang, grabbing his hand to get his attention. The Avatar looked up. "What just happened?" she asked. She knew there had been some sort of fight but the rest was a mystery. Aang shook his head and swallowed.

"Sokka lost it."

o0oOo0o

**A/N: Fight scene's over, just like I said it would be! Let me know how you liked it!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Yay! New chapter! I hope you like it. But just a warning: it's incredibly short and extremely boring. But… the story must go on!**

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Sokka still didn't trust Zuko. Zuko was a firebender and Sokka didn't trust firebenders. Firebenders were scum, especially Zuko. Katara was tired of hearing her brother go around in circles about why they shouldn't trust Zuko. The waterbender wanted to throttle her annoying brother, beat him over the head with a frying pan, water whip him to oblivion—_anything _to get him to shut up. All afternoon, Sokka had sat staring at the newcomer with venomous hate in his eyes, trusted boomerang in hand. It got old after a while. After five minutes, actually.

Katara rolled her eyes. "Sokka, leave him alone."

"I am." Sokka replied, eyes never leaving the ex-prince.

"No you aren't." the waterbender protested, "You've been staring at him all day long and I'm tired of it. Zuko saved my life and probably yours too. What do you think would have happened if he hadn't redirected Azula's lightning attack?" Said waterbender arched a challenging eyebrow.

To this, Sokka looked up. "Azula?"

Katara rolled her eyes. Her brother couldn't use context clues for his life. "Who do you think? The girl that was shooting lightning!" Her arms flew heavenward and her anger was quickly following. Why was her brother making such a big deal out of this? Why couldn't he just trust Zuko?

"How do you know her name?" Sokka yelled, throwing his arms into the air as well. "Did she tell you? 'Oh, hello. My name is Azula and I'm going to try to kill you today.'" The water tribe boy crossed his arms, rolling his eyes like a small child would to his mother.

"Zuko knows her!"

"Well good for Zuko!" Sokka spat, turning his back to his sister. He hated how his sister seemed to be _trying _to bring Zuko into things. "And we're ditching Princey Boy at the next stop!"

"Why? Why can't you just trust him—why can't you just trust my judgment? He can help us!" Katara was fuming now. Aang moved back on the saddle, away from the waterbender. He was amazed the water whips hadn't started yet. Toph stared off into space, ears keen so she could figure out what was happening. Zuko had his head in his hand and rubbed his temples as if he had a headache.

"Even if I did, I don't trust him because he likes you!"

Dead silence.

"So what," Katara began, voice already cracking, "just because we're from two different nations we can't like each other? We can't be together? Is that what you're saying?" Katara's cerulean eyes were welling with tears that threatened at any second to take the plunge down her face. She was really beginning to wish she'd never come back to help. Her brother just couldn't understand. He just _had _to be infuriating.

"It's not that you're from two different nations." Sokka began slowly. An emotional Katara was a hazard to the entire world. Talking to her when she was emotional was an art; you had to master it. "You're complete opposites: Fire and Water! It'll never work!" But in this case, caution was thrown to the wind.

"You don't know it won't work! Nations are just one aspect! We have things in common!" Tears streamed down Katara's cheeks now. Her voice was cracking horribly. Toph flinched while Aang and Zuko looked on in silence. They both wanted desperately to interfere, to stop Sokka from tearing his sister apart, but they couldn't move.

"Like what, Katara? He's a ruthless firebender!"

"No he's not! And we're both determined and focused, powerful benders from broken families--"

Sokka snorted. "Broken family my ass."

"What about your ass?" Zuko cut in. His voice alone was enough to make a full-grown saber-toothed moose-lion turn and run, tail tucked between its legs. "Whether you believe it or not, my family is broken too." Despite the firebender's tone, Sokka spoke again.

"Let's hear it then, Princey Boy."

"My aunt is dead from child birth; her son Lu Ten died in the war. My sister is Azula,"—Zuko got wide eyes from this—"the prodigy firebender and the favorite child. I'm banished from my own country along with my uncle. And my mother disappeared seven years ago."

Dead silence.

"Got anything else to say?" Zuko challenged. Sokka said nothing. "Didn't think so. Now just leave Katara alone. She doesn't need your complaining." Sokka's eyes narrowed.

"Don't tell me what to do!"

Aang sighed, pulling the map from his bag. He needed to do something to drown out all of the fighting in the background. Toph sat beside him, wanting more than anything to land. She didn't want the vibrations so much as she wanted the space. With space, she could get away from all this senseless fighting. The blind girl rubbed her temples, muttering an insult to the other three. Why couldn't they shut up? By the time ten more minutes had passed of this, Toph thought she would go insane. Aang was still fighting to block out the noise, not having much luck. Chi kept squawking and Momo kept chattering. How would they cope with this on the rest of their journey?

"No! You're a stupid fire--"

"Shut up already!" Toph cut in. "You're driving the rest of us insane! Momo and that horse thing won't shut up and Aang can't concentrate. Just grow up! Katara can like whoever she wants!"

"You don't know what you're talking about, Toph! Why don't you shut up?" Sokka snapped. Aang's gray eyes narrowed as he joined the argument.

"Toph didn't do anything wrong, Sokka! Just leave her alone!"

"I will leave her alone if she keeps her nose out of other peoples business!" the water tribe boy spat, pointing a finger at the Avatar. Aang stood, knocking Sokka's finger away.

"It is her business because you three are fighting while we're flying! There's no place to get away from you!"

"Then land!" said Sokka indignantly.

"I will!" Aang yelled back, stomping over to the reins. He took them in his hands so tight that his knuckles turned white. "Appa, yip-yip!" The Spirit Guide flew lower over a group of islands off the coast of the Earth Kingdom. They landed on one of the bigger ones that had a small village on the west coast. As soon as they had landed, Katara hopped off, running into the woods.

"Katara! Come back!" Sokka yelled, running after his sister.

"Leave me alone!" Katara's voice was already getting farther away. Grumbling, Zuko took off after the siblings. He didn't know if he'd made things better or worse before but if he gave Katara an emotional support, it was worth it.

He found Katara sitting on a log, head in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably. Zuko stayed put when he saw Sokka was hugging her, trying to get her to stop. He hated to see his sister so upset and what was worse was the fact that he'd caused it. The water tribe warrior knew Katara couldn't help who she fell for. It was just so hard for him to deal with. "Katara, I'm sorry." Sokka said. Katara kept bawling.

"I shouldn't have said those things. It's just hard to…"

"Just leave me alone!" Katara shot back. "I knew you'd act this way! I should have just…" The waterbender didn't finish her sentence.

"What?" Sokka asked. "Just what?"

"Hadn't come back." Katara replied, wiping away her tears. Sokka froze, not believing his ears.

o0oOo0o

Sighing, Toph laid down on the sand. The last of the still-arguing voices were fading off into the forest, leaving a calm silence. She rolled over onto her back. "Ah, quiet." she breathed with a sigh. She never thought she would miss such a simple thing so achingly much. Aang lay beside her, looking up at the sky. The first twinkling stars were just beginning to come out, contrasting greatly with the inky black sky.

Aang sighed. "I hope they don't fight the whole time."

"Don't jinx us, Aang." the earthbender replied.

"Right."

The silence enveloped them, chirping crickets off in the forest their only company.

"Aang?"

"Yeah, Toph?"

"Why'd you kiss me the other night?"

o0oOo0o

**A/N: Wow, that chapter was short. Shrugs Sorry. I really just want to end the chapter there. Anyway, there's probably only going to be two chapters left; one of them will be the epilogue. **

**REVIEW!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Yay! Last chapter! Hope you enjoy it!**

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Aang lay there, completely silent. Toph's words echoed in his ears: "_Why'd you kiss me the other night?" _She'd been awake? She _knew_? The Avatar could feel his own heartbeat pumping in his ears, drowning out the mocking crickets in the distance. He struggled to figure out an answer. What was he supposed to say? He didn't have any experience with girls; he was supposed to be a monk. Up until Katara and Sokka freed him from the iceberg, Aang had never even met a girl.

Yet here he was. Toph wasn't looking at him, but he could tell the blind girl could feel him. She was completely calm as she lay on her back, propped up on her elbows. This was not helping. It only made Aang more nervous. Until the earthbender laid a hand on his shoulder, the Avatar hadn't realized he had sat up.

"Well…" Aang began. Well what? What was he supposed to say?

Toph mentally slapped herself. Why'd she ask him that? Why'd she put him on the spot? The poor guy's heart was beating a million times a minute. "Never mind, Aang." she said softly, removing her small hand from his shoulder. "I shouldn't have put you on the spot." Toph stood to go. She didn't know where, but she had to go somewhere. She had to get away from Aang. This situation was way too awkward, even for her.

"Toph, wait." the Avatar said, reaching for Toph's hand. Holding it again sent pleasurable shivers up his spine. He stood, fighting the urge to tug at his collar in nervousness. What had he said to Katara back at Aunt Wu's? _I like you, but more than normal. _No, that wouldn't work. Aang racked his brain for something, anything to say.

Toph swallowed. She could tell the airbender that gripped her hand was trying to figure out something to say. She knew Aang was mentally kicking himself; he didn't have anything. Finally, it was Toph that spoke. "You don't have to say it, Twinkle Toes. I already know." The earthbender leaned forward, planting a short but oh-so-sweet kiss on Aang's lips.

o0oOo0o

"Katara, you don't mean that." Sokka said. "Do you?"

"I don't know, Sokka." the waterbender in question responded. "It's just hard because you and Aang are my family, but I still want to be with Zuko. I just don't know…" Sokka swallowed hard and took the deepest breath he could. What he was about to propose would take all the courage he could muster.

"What if…" Sokka cleared his throat. "What if Zuko came with us? He could teach Aang firebending." The water tribe warrior tried to sound lighthearted, but it came out as anything but. The thought of that firebender traveling with them… An unpleasant tingling crawled up his spine.

Katara looked up at her brother, eyes shining with relit hope. She was smiling from ear to ear. Apparently, she couldn't see the forced smile plastered across her brother's face. Did he just say what she thought he said? "You mean it?" She hoped he did. She hoped with all of her heart that Sokka would let Zuko come with them. Sokka took another deep breath, looking into his sister's pleading blue eyes. He shut his.

"Yes. I mean it." In an instant, Katara threw her arms around her brother. "Thank you, Sokka!"

"Alright! Alright!" Sokka attempted to pry himself away from the waterbender. Said waterbender released her death-grip of a hold, clasping her hands together. "You just need to make sure Toph and Aang are okay with it. We're a family." Katara nodded and leapt up, running full tilt toward their unassembled camp. Sokka rubbed his poor, sore shoulder. "Girls."

o0oOo0o

Zuko had left Katara alone with her brother. They needed some time to sort things out on their own without any interference. The firebender made his way into camp to find Aang and Toph…kissing? Zuko blinked and looked back toward them. Now they weren't. Had he imagined the whole thing? The young man shook his head, telling himself he was seeing things. He needed a good night's sleep was all. He climbed back on Appa to get his pack.

Aang and Toph noticed Zuko at the same time. The two pre-teens blushed madly. Aang had his hand behind his head. Had the ex-prince seen that? Judging by the way the firebender hadn't said anything (and had busied himself with unloading the bison), the Avatar didn't think so. Toph twiddled her fingers. She was clearly wondering the same thing.

"We should, um, set up camp." Toph said softly, walking away to unroll sleeping bags. It wasn't like her to help much, but somehow, she believed the situation had become more awkward. Aang nodded, saying something about collecting firewood.

He entered the woods in a daze. His fingers brushed his lips, remembering his short kiss with Toph. It had felt like her lips had barely been there. The love-struck Avatar kept walking, only to be run into. Falling backwards with a grunt, he looked up. Katara stood over him, guilt in her eyes.

"Aang! I'm sorry! I should have paid more attention to where I was going." The waterbender offered her friend a hand up. He took it gratefully.

"Why were you running? Are we being ambushed?" Aang inquired, adrenaline already pumping through his veins. Katara smiled feebly.

"No, we're not. I was just in a hurry." The waterbender held the Avatar by the shoulders. "Look, Aang. Sokka and I were talking and we were thinking that maybe, if he and Zuko can be civil with one another, that Zuko could come along." Though hope shined in Katara's eyes, Aang wasn't sure that was the greatest idea in the world. They had to fly to get around and if things went like they did today, the trip would be a nightmare. What if Sokka and Zuko couldn't deal with each other? The water tribe warrior never had been one for patience. Aang was suddenly nervous again. He knew Katara liked Zuko; that much was clear. What would she do if he didn't agree?

The waterbender could tell the Avatar was weighing his options. She had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. If Aang said no, she would need to leave Zuko and who knows if she'd ever see him again. "You do need a firebending teacher, after all." she added. Katara swallowed a dry lump in her throat, crossing her fingers behind her back. _'Please say yes…' _she said to herself.

Aang sighed. "Katara, I don't think that's such a good idea. I mean, I do need a firebending teacher, but if Sokka and Zuko can't get along it'll make a really long trip for the rest of us."

Just like that, the waterbender's world came crashing down. She had expected Toph might reject the offer, but Aang? She nodded reluctantly. The boy had made his decision and she would respect it no matter how hard it was. "Alright Aang."

"He can stay with us until we leave." the Avatar said. "And we can drop him off at the mainland tomorrow." Katara nodded again, holding back threatening tears. She prayed to the gods Aang had not seen them.

"Okay." The girl turned back toward the woods. "I'm just going to go find Sokka."

Katara found her brother walking back to camp. When he spotted her, he stopped dead. Even in the dark he could tell his sister was not happy. "They said no?" the boy asked, reaching out to the waterbender. She pulled away.

"I just need to be alone right now."

o0oOo0o

Sokka came back into camp to find Aang trying to light a fire, failing miserably. Toph and Zuko were working to pitch a tent, also failing. The warrior spoke up. "Hey, Zuko. Would you mind starting the fire? Aang is going to light his hands on fire before the sticks." Zuko turned to see the Avatar sucking on one of his fingers. Those sticks were hot. "Aang and Toph can take care of the tents."

"Then what are you going to do, Snoozles?" Toph snapped. She was getting cranky now. Great. Sokka fought to remain calm. The little earthbending girl could really push his buttons.

"I'll go find Katara." Sokka turned to Zuko. "Want to come?" The water tribe warrior's stomach flip-flopped. He hated trying to be civil with this guy, but if that's what his sister wanted, that's what she'd get.

"I guess." Zuko replied, lighting the wood in the fire pit. It crackled to life, orange flames dancing. The firebender followed his girlfriend's brother into the woods. As soon as they were out of earshot, they stopped. The firebender arched a questioning eyebrow.

"Let's get this straight," Sokka began, "I hate you; you hate me. But I'll do anything for my sister. Would you?"

"Anything." Zuko replied, all business.

"Alright. I agreed to let you come with us." Zuko loosened up a bit as if an immense weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "But Aang said no." The firebender slouched slightly. That meant he'd go back to being alone…not even Katara would be with him.

"_But," _Sokka said, "if we can be civil to one another until morning, he might reconsider."

o0oOo0o

Having found Katara and telling her about the plan, she nearly burst with excitement and gratitude. She'd hugged them both and even went as far to kissing Zuko on the cheek. Sokka had made a gagging noise that earned him a slap in the back of the head. Things were normal.

As normal as things could get with an ex-enemy firebender traveling with you.

The trio made there way back into camp to find Toph and Aang sitting by the fire, talking quietly about something. Sokka bounded in, looking through the food sack. "What are we doing for dinner?" His voice was muffled by the burlap. Aang looked up at his friends and ex-enemy. Was it just him, or were Katara's eyes a little puffy? Sokka's voice interrupted his thoughts. "We barely have anything left!"

Katara took the moon-peach her brother was holding and threw it back into the sack. "Save those for breakfast and go hunting tonight." Sokka slouched as his sister put her hands on her hips.

"Fine. Zuko. Let's go." The water tribe warrior tugged at the firebender's sleeve and picked up his club.

The other three watched them go. Aang blinked once, then twice. "Are they the same people?" he asked, pointing after them. "They were just fighting an hour ago!" Katara joined the pre-teens on logs around the fire. Her arms were crossed as she stared into the dancing flames of the fire.

"They were just getting over the shock of the situation." the waterbender commented. "Remember how Toph and I used to get along? Now we're real friends." Katara tried to sound convincing. "They're just trying to get along." With that short line, the plan seemed way to obvious. Lucky for Katara, the Avatar was oblivious. But Toph wasn't so naïve. Nevertheless, the earthbender sat back on her log, blind eyes staring into nothingness.

o0oOo0o

By morning, the group had calmed considerably. Sokka and Zuko had only got into an argument once (or so Aang thought) when they were coming back from hunting. All they'd caught was a small boar. It seemed Zuko wasn't one to hunt either. Despite that argument, after that had been smooth sailing… until Toph and Katara got into another little cat fight of theirs. The waterbender had been trying to teach the younger girl how to fold up the tents.

But they somehow packed up camp, buried the fire pit, eaten, and gotten on a well-rested Appa all by sunrise. Katara was getting jittery. She hadn't asked Aang to reconsider and she was wondering what would happen if the Avatar still said no. Sokka seemed to recognize his sister's nervousness and caught her eyes, giving her one of his reassuring stares. The waterbender bit her lip and looked out over the ocean. That was when Sokka chose to speak up.

"Where are we going, Aang?"

"To drop Zuko off at the mainland." the Avatar replied. His comment was met by dead silence. He looked back to see Katara staring off at the water, Zuko staring at the saddle as he wrapped his arms around the waterbender. Sokka was looking at the couple and then turned to Aang.

"He can teach you firebending!" Sokka exclaimed, throwing up his arms. Was it just Aang, or had his warrior friend turned a complete one hundred eighty degrees on his views? The Avatar stared at his friend. He was speechless.

"Aw, just keep flying, Twinkle Toes. If Lightning Boy gives us any trouble, we can throw him off the side of the saddle." Toph spoke up.

"What?" Aang said, shocked. "Toph, I thought you hated them arguing all the time!"

"I do," the girl replied, still gripping the saddle, "but they haven't argued since last night. Maybe they just fight when their tired. That's how me and Sugar Queen get." Aang thought this over for a moment.

"So is everyone okay if Zuko stays?" Aang asked, bending himself onto the saddle. No one spoke. "So no one disagrees?" Silence. "Then I guess he can stay." Aang said with a smile. Katara flew forward, nearly tackling the Avatar with a hug.

"Thank you, Aang!"

"Hey, Zuko. When can we start firebending?" Aang asked, eyes twinkling.

o0oOo0o

**A/N: Hi, people! I know Aang was a little OOC, there was little Zutara, and it seemed a little rushed, but I wanted it that way. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the last chapter of _Alone Together. _I'm not going to add an epilogue so the ending is wide open for a sequel. I might write one. I haven't decided. But if I did, I'm sure you guys would be happy. This is one of my most popular stories. **

**Hope to get your reviews!**


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